


Written as intended

by Miyotesse



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, M/M, Other, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-24
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2021-01-02 11:10:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 47,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21160691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miyotesse/pseuds/Miyotesse
Summary: After the devastating events of Miracle Queen, Marinette is at a crossroads. New responsibilities and an obligation to those who have helped her on her way to this point all need to be considered, and we all know what they say about great responsibilities.(This will be Alyanette eventually, I just have to deal with those messy 'boyfriend' loose ends first. And handle half a dozen tyre fires created by Season 2 and 3)





	1. Consequences

**Author's Note:**

> Sometimes, you have to look at a season or a show, make a couple of adjustments, deem it a fixer upper and be happy.
> 
> Sometimes you have to burn it down to get the only useful bits out of it.
> 
> and sometimes you just have to go 'nope, stop writing this, my characters now' and take control. This is more that sort of fic.
> 
> Post season 3 story, my take on where things should head because the show runners couldn't write a piss up at a brewery

A knife, jabbed into the air at the correct angle, would have refused to fall; such was the tension on the top floor of the Dupain bakery. Tikki, the Kwami of creation and being older than most of the universe, flitted about nervously as she watched her companion. The last few hours had been a whirlwind of events, first the entire ordeal with Love Eater, then the disaster of Miracle Queen and Wang Fu renouncing the guardianship of the Miraculous. Marinette had seemed to be on autopilot after the fact, agreeing to Alya’s idea to gather as many of the class as possible to go and get ice cream from Andre without much of a thought. She had excused herself quickly once everyone was settled, apologising to Luka for leaving him with most of the treat, but she was in no mood to eat. She returned home and had been silent ever since.

“Marinette?” she said, voice uncertain as she drifted a little closer to the girl, who was sat on her bed, arms around her head. In her lap, a large red and black egg, and around her on the bed was a collection of seemingly innocuous trinkets.

“Arrrgh! I can’t do this!” Marinette snapped suddenly, flopping back against her pillows with a grunt of annoyance. “How am I supposed to figure this out without a guide? I’m not a monk! I’m not some super genius!” she lamented, covering her eyes with her hands.

“Don’t sell yourself short Marinette, you’re the cleverest Ladybug yet!” the spotted creature said in a cheery voice. Marinette let out another little groan and rolled to one side, accompanied by the gentle clatter of the trinkets around her.

“I don’t feel it. I’m in way over my head Tikki, I need help… mast… I mean… Fu, he trusted me with the Guardianship of the Miraculous, but I don’t know anything about _being_ a guardian! Why aren’t the Kwamiis coming out, and why did the miraculous box turn into an egg?” she asked, shifting back to look up at her Kwami.

“I… don’t know. I’m sorry Marinette,” Tikki said softly.

“Is there any chance at all that Fu remembers anything?” she asked.

“It’s unlikely. Renouncing ownership of a Miraculous makes you forget using it. I wish I could tell you more, but we Kwami are kept in the dark about most of this, in case we get used like Nooroo is…” Tikki said, glancing away from Marinette as she spoke.

“Nooroo… Hawkmoth…” the young girl mumbled, her fists balling tightly. She took in a shuddered breath, and tried to ignore the faint prickle of tears in her eyes. “He knows the identities of so many of my friends now. Alya… Nino… he’s sure to target them even more now. And it’s all my fault!” she said, curling back into herself again, hitching as a sob escaped her throat.

“Marinette! It’s not your fault!” Tikki exclaimed, dashing in to nuzzle up against her crying friend’s cheek. “Hawkmoth was already closing in on Master Fu, if you’d transformed he might have seen _your_ civilian form, and how could you know Chloe was going to side with him?”

“Chloe…” Marinette muttered, anger filtering through her sadness as she sat back up, wiping away her tears. “She’s gone too far this time. I need to… I’m going to go see her. She can’t just get away with whatever she wants to, not this time,” she said, pushing herself to her feet and gathering up the trinkets; the Miraculous. She glanced around, and chose a suitably unassuming box to hide them in, putting the box and the egg inside one of her lesser used wardrobes. Stepping away from the wardrobe, a flash of inspiration ran through her, and she returned to the box, grabbing a small handful of the trinkets.

“What are you going to say to her? What are you going to do?” Tikki asked, a worried look on her face.

“I don’t know… I just… I need to talk to her, I need to do _something_ to get my mind away from everything _else_,” she said. “Spots on!”

Chloe sat at her dressing table, staring forlornly into the mirror. She had been denied her Bee Miraculous, twice in the same day. She had been left out to dry by Hawkmoth. She had been denied moving away from the riff raff of Francois Dupont. She had been snubbed by the very same riff raff who had gone off without her yet again. She has been questioned by the police, and worst of all, she had been _grounded_.

“Ridiculous! Utterly Ridiculous!” she snapped to her reflection, as her thoughts bubbled over. “My whole evening’s plans, ruined! How am I supposed to complete my homework without Sabrina here to do it for me!?” she lamented, crossing her arms indignantly. She looked down at the book that sat on the desk, and glared at it, willing it to burst into flames or to teleport away or to do… anything other than sit there as yet another reminder that nothing was going her way.

“How am I supposed to survive without my phone? Without my lackey? This is child abuse!” she yelled, throwing a shoe at the door to her suite, which was locked from the outside. There came a muffled laugh, and she span around in her chair, but there was no-one to be seen in the room.

“Who’s there? Show yourself?” she snapped, before letting out a little gasp. “Pollen, is that you? Have you come back to me?” she squeaked, hopefully.

“A Kwami will usually not return to someone who abused them, especially someone as spoiled and self-centred as you, Chloe,” Ladybug said, dropping from the roof above the balcony. She tried the handle of the door, only to find it locked.

“Hmph. What are **you** doing here?” Chloe asked her, rolling her eyes as the heroine tried the handle another way. “It’s locked, they’ve trapped me in here,” she said. Ladybug took a step back and, with a swift kick, sent the doors swinging inward. Despite her anger, Chloe found her cheeks heating up with the beginnings of a blush. “H-holy shit…” she mumbled to herself.

“I’m here to give you a piece of my mind,” Ladybug practically growled, storming over to Chloe who scrambled to her feet and began to back away from the approaching woman.

“W-wait! Stop! Don’t come any closer!” Chloe shrieked, panic stricken. Though Chloe had a few inches of height over Ladybug, the hero seemed to tower over as she backed into the door with a soft yelp.

“What the hell were you thinking? **Were** you even thinking?” Ladybug snapped, slamming her palm against the wall beside Chloe’s head. The blonde let out a squeak as she slid down a little, heart thudding against her chest.

“I… I… Y-you didn’t give me the Bee Miraculous, and…” she stammered.

“I didn’t give you a Miraculous because Hawkmoth knows who you are! He could have used that information to get to you, by your family, and turn you against Paris. **And lo and behold!** He got to you, by your family, and turned you against Paris!” Ladybug yelled, slamming her hand against the wall again.

“Y-y-you’re…” Chloe began, trying to draw on her indignation, her anger at the whole situation, but she found herself faltering. The muscular arms that rested either side of her head, the angry and yet subtle and sublime features on her face, the mask only adding to the allure of the superheroine. Chloe took a breath to compose herself.

“Well?”

“Hmph! You’re the one to blame here, Ladybug! If you had given me the Miraculous, I wouldn’t have been on that rooftop to begin with! I’d’ve been helping you save my parents, which I should note, you failed to do! Hawkmoth did!” she snapped, noting that the hero practically flinched away from her initial accusation. The hero’s head hung for a few moments, and Chloe began to think she might have gotten the upper hand. When Ladybug looked back up at her, she knew instantly that she had made a significant error.

“How… dare you! How dare you accuse me of causing all this!” Ladybug shouted, taking a step back from the girl, who remained pressed against the door. “**You** are to blame for this, Chloe! You chose to take power from a corrupt villain, because you felt you were owed it. You chose to expose the other Miraculous holders, to put their friends and families at risk, all because you wanted to play at being a superhero. You’re no hero, Chloe Bourgeois. You’re a villain. You take and you bully and you demand and you never, ever think about anyone other than yourself, and until you change that, completely, and sincerely, you’ll never be a hero,” she continued voice getting a little quieter as she neared the end of her speech.

“I…” Chloe mumbled, tears welling up in her eyes.

“I don’t want to hear anything you have to say tonight. Think about what I’ve said, because if I have to go against you again, Chloe… I’m treating you the same way I’d treat Hawkmoth. And mayoral father or not, you **will** go to jail,” Ladybug snapped, spinning on her heels and stomping to the window. Her Yo-yo span in a blur, and before Chloe could react, she was gone. The silence that filled the room lasted a precious few moments, before the girl’s sobs broke through.

Ladybug landed on the roof of the hotel with a thud, and moments later, a flash of pink shone out as she detransformed. Marinette stretched her arms up high as Tikki whipped around her, the girl with an oddly serene expression on her face.

“Marinette, don’t you think you were a bit harsh on her?” Tikki asked, as Marinette walked to the edge of the roof, gazing out over the Parisian skyline. Marinette shook her head slowly.

“How many chances has she had, Tikki? Queen Wasp, Zombizou, Miraculer? Those are just off the top of my head. I’m serious about what I said too, if she tries to twist some situation to her advantage and get herself a Miraculous, I’m taking that bully of a girl to jail,” Marinette said, a faint hint of maliciousness in her voice.

“Be careful Marinette. It can be cathartic to vent like this but if you take it too far, you could start down a dark path,” Tikki said, bobbing up and down in front of the girl’s face.

“It’s fine Tikki,” she said, waving her hand dismissively. “Besides, it felt good to finally get that off my chest! I’ve been so pent up lately, so much stress, getting a release like that felt so good!” she said, a big grin on her face. Tikki shifted nervously.

“That’s fine, but taking it all out on Chloe wasn’t fair,” she replied.

“Hah! That wasn’t taking it all out on her, trust me, there’s a lot more where that came from,” the girl said.

“That’s what I’m worried about…” Tikki mumbled half to herself.

“What was that?”

“Noth… er… I mean… I’m a little worried, Marinette. Emotions are powerful, if you let them run away you could do something you regret,” she said, looking up at the human earnestly. Marinette’s expression fell for a moment, but she reached up and gently patted the curious creature’s head softly.

“Thank you. You’re a good friend Tikki. I promise, if things go too far, I’ll stop,” she said, holding out her pinkie for the bug-like entity to shake. Tikki took hold of it in both of her stubby hands, and shook it, momentarily before it dawned on her what Marinette had said exactly.

“Wait, what do you mean, if things go too far?”

“Spots on Tikki! I have more catharting to do!”

“Whoa! You did it!” Kim exclaimed as he leapt to his feet, dancing like a loon as Max dropped back into his chair, letting out a heavy sigh. The screen in front of them was flashing a rainbow of colours and exuberant Japanese music was playing from the headphones that rested on the desk beneath it.

“Finally!” Max said with relief, adjusting his glasses after mopping his brow. “While a simple game in theory, mastering the subtle movements to navigate the patterns took longer than I had anticipated,” he continued, tapping the slumbering form of Markov to save the footage to the robotic drone. He nodded to Kim, who knelt beside him with a grin.

“Undefined Miraculous Object completed!” both boys exclaimed, facing the camera that sat on an adjustable arm behind the screen. Kim posed with a V sign and Max with a thumbs up. Max then tapped the robot again, and the light on the camera went dark.

“Phew! Wow, it’s like midnight, we have school tomorrow. I guess I, uh… should be going?” Kim said, a little hesitantly. Max spun his chair to face the taller boy, shy smile upon his face.

“Or, perhaps you could sleep here? I have spare blankets, and the futon pulls out. Statistically, it would be a safer option than navigating the streets of Paris this late into the evening,” he said, adjusting his glasses again in a vain hope of hiding the blush that was starting to appear on his cheeks.

“Ohh? Are you sure? Wouldn’t you rather spend the time with… Alix?” Kim said, leaning in with a conspiratorial waggle of his eyebrows.

“How many times must you insist on teasing me for that? We shared an ice cream as friends, nothing more! Both she and I lack the gastric capacity of you colossal forms, and as such could not have adequately consumed one of the treats each!” the shorter boy replied, arms crossed in a flustered huff. Kim chuckled, and leaned in against the boy.

“I know I know, just having a little bit of fun. Can’t blame me if... what was that?” Kim said, head twitching toward the curtains, which were billowing in the evening breeze.

“Staying up this late, boys? And on a school night too, tut tut,” Ladybug said as her suit/clad hands pushed the curtains aside, allowing her to lean into the room.

“Ladybug!” Kim exclaimed excitedly, prompting the girl to hurriedly shush him with a hasty wave of her hand.

“Shhh! I’m only here for a moment and I don’t want much attention,” she said in hushed tones.

“Why are you here? Is there an Akuma?” Max asked nervously.

“No, it’s not a bad… well, it sort of is a bad… anyway, what I mean is… no, let’s start again. There’s no Akuma, so you needn’t be worried about that,” the girl said, gesturing wildly as she spoke.

“So… what’s brought you here?” Kim asked.

“I wanted to speak to Max, but it’s fortunate you’re here too. I’m not here with good news, unfortunately. Hawkmoth knows you both as wielders of the Miraculous, which means, to protect you, your families, and the Miraculous, I need you both to renounce your ownership of them,” she said, running a finger along her Yo-yo. A small metal headband and a foldable pair of glasses emerged from the glowing light, and she took hold of one in each hand.

“Wait, Ladybug, does this mean…” Kim asked, looking down at the heroine with furrowed brow.

“We won’t get to use them anymore? We’ll be civilians again?” Max finished. Ladybug frowned, and glanced away for a moment.

“It means you will forget having ever used them in the first place. You will forget the Kwami, the powers, everything that you’ve done related to the Miraculous as a holder. I’m so sorry, but there’s no other way to protect you,” she said. The room’s air grew thick with silence.

“Will we remember everything else?” Max asked eventually.

“I… don’t know. I’m sorry I can’t give you a more certain answer,” Ladybug replied, eyes closing as she fought back at the prickle of tears in her eyes. Max glanced up at Kim, who nodded back at him.

“OK.” They said, almost in unison.

“What?” Ladybug almost gasped.

“We said we’ll do it. Better to keep our friends and family safe than get to maybe possibly use a superpower again once or twice,” Kim said, with a beaming smile on his face.

“Logically, it makes the most sense to remove our memories of the Miraculous,” Max added, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

“Thank you, thank you both so much. I promise, I’ll keep fighting, keep doing my very best to keep everyone you love safe,” she said, as they took hold of the offered Miraculous. She explained that all they had to do was to say that they renounced ownership, and the magic would do the rest. Words uttered, the Miraculous shone brightly for a moment, before returning to their dormant states again. Ladybug then took the time to make sure they were both uninjured after fainting, before making a swift exit once they began to recover.


	2. Trauma

“Is it true? Are we never gunna see them again?” Xuppu asked as Marinette paced over the rooftops idly. The girl had detransformed to fish out the rest of the Miraculous trinkets, to separate the Horse and the Monkey. To her surprise, the Kwami had emerged from their slumber as she was moving them.

“I… yes. I’m sorry, I know you both liked your friends, but we need to think about safety above all else,” Marinette said to the forlorn looking monkey-like creature.

“Hmph. I doubt you could find someone as fabulous as Max in the whole of Paris,” Kaalki said with a huff, crossing her hooves as she floated in front of the pigtailed girl. Marinette found the comment amusing, and she knew that the critter was trying to make her laugh, but she couldn’t even bring herself to smile.

“Maybe. For now, I think it’s safer for you to stay in your Miraculous. I’ll make sure to call on you all soon though, I promise,” she said, forcing a weak curl onto her lips. The two spirits disappeared with a flash of light, and the girl let out an exasperated sigh.

“What made you choose Max first Marinette?” Tikki asked, watching the teen from a distance away.

“He was the closest, and I figured he would put up the least resistance, other than Luka, but I can’t go to him right now…” she said, almost wistfully. She knew that she had some sort of feelings for the older boy, but she was unsure if it was anything close to what she felt for Adrien.

“Marinette, are you OK?” Tikki asked, snapping Marinette out of her thoughts. The girl blinked, and realised that she had begun to cry.

“Oh? I, uh, didn’t realise… I’m fine Tikki, I’m…” she began. Her mind was full of thoughts of the blonde haired boy, his arm around Kagami, laughing and sharing an ice cream with her. She rubbed at her eyes, dropping down onto the concrete parapet of the roof. “I’m not OK. I… I messed up real bad. Adrien’s already in love with someone else, and I missed my chance, and I’m an idiot and useless and I can’t take all this Tikki!” she sobbed, desperately rubbing at her eyes to clear the tears as they fell.

“Oh Marinette…” the little magical creature said, nuzzling in at the girl as best she could.

“I know… I know it’s my fault… and I’m happy for them, I am, I’m happy they’re happy but… but I hate that I was never strong enough to tell him! I was so scared that he’d shoot me down and now… well, now I might not get the chance to find out either way,” she went on, tears slowing. “It hurts…”

“Love always does when it might not be meant to be,” Tikki said softly, patting her friend on the cheek.

“Have you ever… have any of the other Ladybugs been like this, so… weak willed and emotional?” Marinette asked, before feeling a firm tap on her cheek. She blinked once or twice, looking down at her Kwami who wore a stern expression.

“Don’t talk about yourself like that Marinette! You’re strong! You’re brave!” she said, flying closer to Marinette’s face.

“Thank you Tikki. I know, I’m just feeling sorry for myself right now. It’s been a bit of a long day,” she said, a shade sarcastically. Tikki nodded her head and drifted back in for another gentle nuzzle.

“Where to next?” she asked.

“Nino, and then if I have time, Alya. It’s already pretty late…” Marinette said, drawing in a breath as she prepared to once again take to the night. “Tikki… spots on!”

Nino leaned back in his chair, hat resting over his eyes. His phone sat on his desk, buzzing on occasion. His signature headphones rested on his collarbone, the faint trill of music filling the room with background noise. He grabbed the phone and glanced at it, noting that he had a few dozen unread messages, and three missed calls. Another call came through as he watched, and he gently tossed the thing back onto the desk.

“Major bummer…” he muttered to himself, shaking his head slowly. His attention was caught when a gentle tapping came at his window, and he spun his chair to look. “Whoa. Ladybug?” he spoke, as the heroine gestured to the latch. The DJ stood, and walked over the window, opening it an inch and a half.

“Nino, can I come in and talk for a bit?” Ladybug asked, noting the boy’s uneasy expression.

“The window doesn’t open any wider Ladybro. Uh, is this urgent? I’m kinda in the middle of something,” he said, glancing back at the phone, which buzzed and twitched again as he looked.

“It is rather important. But I don’t have to actually come in. Although this is a little awkward and not the best…” she said, glancing around the window to try and figure out a solution.

“Rain check? I’m free tomorrow all day yo, we could meet up somewhere?” he suggested, shifting on his heels. Ladybug blinked once or twice.

“Tomorrow? Aren’t youuuu,” she began, before chiding herself. Ladybug wasn’t supposed to know that Marinette had asked Alya to come round under the pretense of a study session so she could lament about the Adrien situation, and that Alya had refused because she had a date with Nino. “uuu supposed to be asleep right now? We really should be discussing this quieter,” she finished, a feeble grin spreading across her lips.

“Yeah, kinda, but I’m a little bummed out. It ain’t anything harsh just my own issues. If you wanna meet me tomorrow, I’ll be hanging here all day. Bring the little dude too if that’s OK, I miss my man Wayzz,” he said, forcing a smile. Ladybug nodded swiftly.

“OK. I’ll swing by and we can speak tomorrow. Now get some sleep,” she said, matter-of-factly. She swung away from the building and landed in a nearby park, ducking into a little patch of bush to detransform.

“Tikki, I’m a little worried about Nino, he seemed really upset about something,” she said, brushing a few leaves from her shoulder.

“He did? He didn’t seem so down to me,” came the reply.

“Trust me, I’ve known him a long time, he was listening to Mylene Farmer. He only does that when he’s sad,” she said, offering the little bug-like entity a cookie from her purse. “It’s late, but I think we should pay a visit to Alya. I’m not too happy with her lately but she’ll have answers,” Marinette said, gesturing to her earrings once her partner had finished eating.

Faint red light filtered out from Alya’s curtains as Ladybug landed on the balcony that sat outside the reporter’s window. She agonised and reconsidered knocking a dozen times before her knuckles gently tapped the glass, almost too soft to be heard but evidently it was enough, because she heard the thump of feet hitting the ground and firm, angry pads towards the window.

“If you’re an Akuma I swear to…” Alya growled, tugging the curtains aside and stepping back. Her cheeks glinted faintly in the moonlight, tracks of tears betraying her as she stood looking across at the superheroine. Time slowed as Ladybug pushed the windows apart, every step she took towards her crying friend felt like an eternity but something drove her forwards regardless, something deep in the pit of her stomach. Alya could barely react as Ladybug stepped forward. Ladybug raised her arms. Step. Alya let out a sob. Step. Ladybug’s arms were tight around Alya’s shoulders. Step. Alya’s hands met one another at the small of the heroine’s back. Step. Ladybug’s foot fell awkwardly against Alya’s. Stumble. The two girls became vertical. Twist. Ladybug’s back hit the floor. Thump. Alya’s heart pounded against her chest.

“L-ladybug!?” she exclaimed in a hoarse whisper, gasping for the breath she didn’t realise she’d been holding. The masked girl released her hug slowly, as the events of the last second and a half played back to her.

“I… sorry, I… you were crying and… it was just instinct,” Ladybug said, releasing the girl completely as she began to blush.

“Nuthin to apologise for. I, uh, really needed that. The hug, I mean. Being pulled to the floor I could’ve done without,” she said, moving to sit on her bed as her palms brushed at her knees.

“Sorry,” Ladybug said again quietly, shifting to a seated position with her feet tucked beneath her. “I didn’t mean to intrude on you like this,” she added with a weak smile.

“I’m just glad you didn’t get here an hour ago, you’d’ve seen me blubbing like an idiot. I just… there’s a lot going on, and, it got the better of me,” she said, rubbing her cheeks dry with a tissue.

“If there’s anything you want to talk about, I don’t mind. It’s a quiet evening.”

“It’s nothing, really. I actually kinda had someone else in mind for talking about this stuff but she’s been ignoring my calls and answering texts way late recently. I… don’t exactly blame her either,” Alya went on, adjusting her glasses.

“Oh?”

“Yeah. I’ve been a bad friend. Like, real bad…”

“How so?”

“You really wanna sit here and listen to my dumb school drama stuff? And why were you here to begin with, there’s nothing urgent going on is there? I don’t wanna miss out on a scoop!” Alya said, reaching for one of her notepads. Ladybug let out a gentle chuckle, and shook her head.

“No emergency, I think, just a curiosity. And a bit of a request as well,” she said.

“That’s got to be more interesting than my stuff, spill it girl!”

“I… OK. I spoke with Nino Lahiffe earlier, and he seemed to be in a low mood. I was wondering if you knew anything about it and I can clearly see you do,” Ladybug began, eyes widening as Alya’s expression went from piqued and curious to angry as soon as Nino’s name came up.

“Oh, he’s sad is he? Good! He deserves to feel as bad as I do,” she snapped, crossing her arms firmly across her chest.

“What’s happened?”

“Aurore Beaureal happened. Nino kissing her happened!”

“What!?”

“He kissed her, on the lips, on their secret louvre date!” Alya barked, expression sour.

“No way! Nino did that? I always thought he was in love with you, it seemed so obvious. Err, when I saw you working together, of course,” Ladybug said, quickly correcting herself out of such familiarity.

“Well, evidently not! Uugh, I hate this, I hate him, I hate myself for being so naïve, and I hate that I’m hating myself at all, because I’m supposed to be awesome,” Alya said with a whimper. Ladybug regarded her with a quirk of her eyebrow. “My sister Nora always tells me I need to love myself before I love anyone else, to do things like calling myself awesome. I thought I did, just, uugh, thinking about all the dumb things I’ve done lately makes me hate me more than almost anyone!”

“I know that feeling all too well. I’m probably harder on myself than anyone else, and sometimes, it really does hurt knowing that you don’t even have your own respect…” Ladybug said, hanging her head.

“What, you? C’mon, you’re fricking Ladybug! Saviour of Paris, hero of the people!” Alya exclaimed, fighting back a yawn as she did so.

“It’s late. I should… there was something else but it can wait. You should get some sleep,” Ladybug said with another weak smile.

“W-when will you be coming back? I’ll, uh… tidy,” Alya said, a little awkwardly. Ladybug noted the awkwardness, but in her own tiredness, she dismissed it.

“I have to speak with Nino tomorrow, but I can come by after that. Unless there’s an Akuma, but I’m sure you’d keep track of that,” she said, giving the girl as sly a wink as she could manage.

“OK. Tomorrow. I’ll… I’ll see you tomorrow,” Alya said, smiling back at the heroine.

Marinette slumped down onto her chaise as she detransformed, letting out an elongated groan as she pressed her face into the pillow.

“I can’t believe Nino would do that to Alya. He’s such a nice boy…” Tikki said as she drifted lazily over to the bed, yawning.

“Appearances can be deceptive. I’m worried about Alya. I really hope she forgives me for vanishing… yet again…” Marinette said, reaching for her phone as it sat charging on her desk. She grabbed in the air a few times before hooking a finger over the cable. One swift yank sent her phone spinning through the air and she caught it just before it hit the floor.

“Don’t forget to get some sleep yourself Marinette,” Tikki called out as she settled down onto Marinette’s pillow.

“Mmm. Six missed calls, jeez Alya…” the girl whispered to herself as she rolled onto her side, tapping at the notifications. She thoroughly intended to read everything and to respond before heading up to bed, but ten minutes later, both hero and magical companion were lost to their dreams.

Marinette awoke to find herself standing on a bridge. Water rushed beneath her feet, a few inches from the underside of the construction, from one side to the other. The construction itself was made of some sort of orangey red copper, with darker patches haphazardly placed around it. The bridge stretched off into the distance in both directions, and there were no features on the horizon no matter which way she looked. She began to walk, but found that despite stepping forwards, she was making no progress in the direction she chose. She tried going the other direction, tried to walk faster, even to run, but she could not get away. As she slowed to a stop again, she noticed a movement out over the water. A huge swell of water was surging towards the bridge, right where she stood. She went to let out a shriek of panic, but no sound emerged from her. Stumbling into a run, she found herself still unable to move, unable to escape as the wave drew closer and closer. Just as the water threatened to engulf her, to sweep her from the bridge, she let out a shriek, gasping for breath as she jolted awake.

“Marinette?” Tikki mumbled from across the room. Marinette clutched at her pounding heart, hands shaking as the sensation of water around her still made her skin tingle and her hair stand on end.

“I… had a bad dream,” she said quietly, glancing at her phone. 04:13. She let out a faint sigh, and pulled herself upright. “Can’t even get a night’s sleep…” she muttered as she climbed up to her bed, dropping onto it whilst being cautious not to disturb Tikki too much. Wrapping her blankets around her, she curled up and let her head hit the pillow. She then sat up, and reached up to feel her hair, which was damp.


	3. Revelations

Marinette, defying her nature and the gods themselves, somehow managed to wake up at a decent time feeling fairly well refreshed. She had a quick breakfast, bid goodbye to her parents and made her way out into the crisp morning air. Minutes later, Ladybug was sailing through the rooftops, on her way to her tasks. She’d already sent apology messages to Alya and promised to see her that day, but her first priority was finishing her plan. She landed on the little ledge outside Nino’s window, and tapped on it firmly. She glanced inside, and let out an embarrassed squeak, pulling back from the window with a firm blush on her face.

“Whoa! Ladybro, wasn’t expecting you this early. Um… gimme ten minutes to finish getting changed and I’ll meet you on the roof,” he called out, pulling his duvet over himself.

“Yes! I will! Be. On the roof. That is where I will be,” she exclaimed, launching herself upwards. She landed on the roof and let out a shrill scream, a mix of embarrassment and frustration. Twelve minutes later, the door to the roof swung open and Nino emerged.

“Sorry! I got a call and I had to take it, I woulda been early otherwise,” he said, panting lightly as he jogged over to her.

“It’s fine,” she said, through a somewhat forced smile. “I have to talk to you concerning the events of yesterday,” she went on, fishing into the glowing portal of light that was her Yo-yo’s storage. She removed the turtle miraculous, and snapped her weapon shut. “Nino Lahiffe, you have been identified by Hawkmoth as a Miraculous user. To protect you, your family, your friends… even your girlfriend… I’m afraid I can’t let you be a Miraculous user anymore,” she said solemnly. Nino looked hurt, but he nodded his head.

“Yeah… I kinda figured this was what you wanted to talk about. Can I at least say goodbye to my little bro?” he asked. Ladybug shook her head slowly.

“The Kwami have gone dormant since the incident. I would have to officially give you the Miraculous to awaken Wayzz, which would only complicate things further,” she said, causing the boy’s brow to furrow.

“Whaddaya mean, complicate things further?”

“Nino… I have to ask you to renounce ownership of the Turtle miraculous. Doing so will remove the memories you have whilst using it, including the memories of those you know to be Miraculous wielders,” she said. “It’s the only way to protect you from Hawkmoth.”

“Whoa… that’s a lot to ask… is it… is it all my memories since I took up the Miraculous?” he asked, wringing his hands together.

“I don’t know for certain. I believe it is only the memories associated with being a Miraculous Holder, but I haven’t seen any results yet so I can’t give you a definitive answer,” Ladybug replied, lowering her head.

“So you’ve… asked others this already? You’ve… spoken to Alya?” he asked.

“I haven’t spoken to her about this yet, but we have spoken. She was… in an emotional state last night, and I didn’t want to put more pressure on her,” ladybug answered in a faintly accusatory tone.

“I…” Nino began, but Ladybug held up a hand.

“The less I know the better. It could put you at risk. Why not speak to someone close to her? Your friend… Marinette, I believe her name is?”

“Mari is great, but… I kinda had a crush on her before Alya, so that would be supes awks…” he said. Ladybug nodded faintly. “I, uh… can’t really see a way around this…” he muttered softly.

“I’m so sorry it has to be this way Nino,” Ladybug said quietly, holding the bracelet towards him. He took it gingerly, and shifted its weight into his palm.

“Ladybug. I renounce my ownership of the Turtle Miraculous. It’s yours now,” he said, offering it back to her. The Miraculous flashed with bright light, before fading, and Ladybug stepped forward, catching Nino with one arm and taking hold of the Miraculous with the other.

After getting Nino inside the building and to somewhere safe, Ladybug quickly made herself scarce. She detransformed and, after a heartfelt conversation with Wayzz, she began to make her way to Alya’s. On her way, though, she heard raised voices, and stopped on a roof to investigate.

“You fail to comprehend the seriousness of this, Daughter!” a stern woman with a strong Japanese accent to her French snapped, from the window of a red car.

“I comprehend perfectly well, mother. Your backhandedness and unscrupulous dealings with Gabriel Agreste are all too obvious. You wish to marry me off to merge your empire with his, regardless of the feelings of those involved, and I will not be a pawn in your games!” a similarly accented voice snapped from the opposite kerb. Ladybug recognised Kagami instantly, her stern but serious tone carried even up to the rooftops.

“Insolent child! For that, you will walk! Return home immediately, where you will receive further punishment!” Kagami’s mother Tomoe, snapped, rolling the window back up. The car’s tyres screeched, and the vehicle shot off at some speed. Ladybug considered leaving alone, but as she turned to leave, she heard gentle sobs coming from the girl below. She also caught the telltale flaps of an Akuma butterfly. Narrowing her eyes, the heroine let her Yo-yo loose, and swung. She landed a few metres from the sobbing girl, caught the familiar flash of purple on her handkerchief and watched the butterfly shape appear around her eyes.

“Ame No Ko, I am Hawkmoth. I will give you the powers of the heavens themselves, to cry your tears of revenge on all who have wronged you. All I ask in return is the Miraculous of Chat Noir and La-” the haunting voice of the villain echoed from the magical mask of light, until Ladybug tore the infected item from Kagami’s hands and ripped it apart.

“Not today Hawkmoth!” she exclaimed, more than a little bit smugly. A few moments and a lot of magic later, the kerchief was intact and back in Kagami’s hands, the butterfly that had infected it purified and released.

“Ladybug, I must thank you. I was overcome with emotion, and could not control myself,” Kagami said with her head hung low.

“You don’t have to apologise Kagami. You’re not the one who preys on people when they’re vulnerable, taking advantage of them and making them do horrible things,” Ladybug said, patting the girl on the shoulder.

“I am grateful that you were nearby. I could feel the power of that Akuma rushing into me. It would have let me summon a catastrophic rainstorm…”

“I’m glad I was able to help.”

“If only you could swing your magic Yo-yo to fix my other problems…” the young fencer said with a sigh, picking herself up off the kerb.

“I might not have a magical solution, but perhaps sharing your problems might help?” Ladybug said, offering her hand to help the girl onto her feet.

“I… do not have many friends who would be willing to listen. In fact, I only really have one… and she is part of the problem,” Kagami said, noting that Ladybug flinched at this.

“Eh? W-w-w-what do you mean?” Ladybug stammered. Kagami sighed, and walked away from the superheroine, pacing towards a nearby bench.

“My mother has come to Paris with the express purpose of working with Gabriel Agreste. She hopes to one day merge her company with his, and she believes that marrying me to his son is a good way to go about it,” she said, steely glare locked onto Ladybug.

“S-so, the problem is, you don’t love him?” the spot clad girl asked, tone far more hopeful than she intended.

“No. My heart… betrays my feelings. He is attractive, kind, selfless and strong. Any girl interested in boys would fall for him. The problem is that he does not feel the same way for me. I do not want to force him into a loveless relationship.”

“Then, you think he might have feelings for your friend,” Ladybug said, gulping slightly.

“No. My friend also has feelings for him, but she is shy and nervous, and clumsy to a fault. But she has heart, more than anyone else I have ever encountered, and I do count you in that too. She is warm and welcoming, even to a girl who pines for the one she loves. I do not wish to hurt her by pushing the matter with Adrien, hence my conflicted feelings,” Kagami finished, taking a long breath before sighing. “If she were interested in me, perhaps it would solve everything…” she added, making Ladybug squeak suddenly.

“Ah! S-sorry, I didn’t know you were… were…” she struggled for the word.

“I follow my heart. Marinette is a wonderful girl, and I would happily call her my girlfriend or wife one day, but she does not feel for girls the same way she does for boys, or else she would be dating someone else,” Kagami said, nodding matter-of-factly as Ladybug began to blush brightly.

“How do you do it? Follow your heart, I mean?” Ladybug asked.

“It is… a feeling. Like your heart is being pulled towards the person you desire. It is a gentle but irresistible tug, one that makes you a little sick and a little dizzy but at the same time happy and relieved,” Kagami said, a rare smile spreading across her lips.

“And… that happens all the time?”

“Yes. Sometimes, it is weak, sometimes, it is so strong it almost makes you weep. But it is always there,” Kagami said, standing up and bowing to the superheroine. “Thank you for this talk, Ladybug. It has been cathartic to talk about the situation.”

“Cathartic… that reminds me. I need to talk to you about Ryuuko…” Ladybug said, sadness breaking through her embarrassment.

Ladybug dropped the slumbering form of Kagami at her home, explaining to the staff there that she had been caught up in an Akuma incident, and would need some time to sleep it off. She was offered refreshments for her services but declined, feigning that she would detransform soon to allow herself a quick escape. Landing safely away from sight, she let her transformation fall off, and began to frantically pat at her cheeks.

“Tikki! She said she would date me! She said she’d **marry** me! I didn’t… I don’t… I mean, I never even _thought_ about girls that way!” she said, as Tikki giggled merrily to herself.

“Well, maybe it’s worth considering them? You go on about your life with Adrien, but could you see yourself doing that with a girl? Like Kagami?” the Kwami asked.

“I… I don’t know… I always thought that it just made sense, wanting all that along with Adrien but… could I? But Kagami, she’s so stoic and cool and there’s no way she’d be into me” she muttered.

“Marinette, she literally just told you in confidence that she would be into you,” Tikki said in a deadpan tone.

“I know but… I don’t know, Kagami and me, that doesn’t make sense…” Marinette continued to mumble. “Rose? She and Juleka are almost definitely a thing. Mylene is so head over heels for Ivan. Sabrina… no. Chloe. I would rather eat my own hair. Alya…” she went on. She took in a shuddered breath as she paced toward the exit of the alleyway, deep in her own thoughts.

“Whoa!” a voice exclaimed, along with the screeching of tyres and ringing of a bell. Marinette just managed to leap back from the oncoming bicycle, arms akimbo as she did so.

“Ahh! I’m so sorry, I was miles away and… L-L-Luka!?” Marinette said, recognising the stylised mop of blue and black hair, and the faraway eyes of her classmates’ older brother. She clutched at her chest, realising that her heart was pounding.

“Mamamarinette,” the boy replied, a wry smile gracing his lips as he hopped from the bike, propping its stand out to approach her. He reached in, as Marinette’s eyes widened, and gingerly plucked a stray leaf from her head. “Felt like taking nature for a ride?” he asked with the cool charm that she knew him for.

“I, uh… guess? I was… heading to Alya’s, and thought this would be a good shortcut to take. Guess I need to be a little more careful, huh?” she said, sheepishly brushing her hair back down with a goofy grin. The pounding was going down now, but it had definitely been there. A firm tug, right on her heart.

“It’s not for me to tell you how to live your life. But yeah, these alleyways are crazy sketchy, and you should avoid them if possible,” the boy replied, brushing a stray lick of hair from his face.

“I’ll try,” Marinette replied, regaining some of her composure. “What brings you to this side of the river?” she asked.

“Delivering something special, a personal request from someone very important to me, to someone very important to them,” he said, reaching into his bag to reveal a fairly thick looking parcel, wrapped in purple, black and pink.

“Ohh. Well, good luck. With the delivering, I mean. Um,” Marinette said, shifting on her heels. She felt awkward, but it wasn’t quite the same kind of awkward that she felt around Adrien. The blonde made her babble and gush, whereas the blue haired boy just made her quiet and giggly. She opened her mouth once or twice, but her words failed her. Luka let out a soft chuckle, and smiled.

“Thanks Marinette, I’ll try my best,” he said, sincerely. The boy slid the parcel back into his back, and said goodbye, riding off as Marinette watched.

“Tikki?”

“Yes Marinette?”

“Did I really just say ‘good luck with your delivery’?”

“Yes you did.”

“Fantastic. If he didn’t think of me as a colossal airhead already, he probably does now. Come on, let’s get you a cookie and go meet with Alya,” Marinette said with a gentle sigh.

“Ladybug! I’m so glad you came back!” Alya exclaimed as she pushed her balcony door open. Ladybug couldn’t help but smile at the girls enthusiasm, she had a brightness to her even despite her low mood that was infectious and made the heroine’s head spin.

“Of course! It wouldn’t do for a hero to let down one of her fans, after all,” she said with a teasing wink. She retracted her Yo-yo from its position, and with a flick of her wrist, pulled the doors shut behind her with the zippy toy.

“Whoa! Cool trick!” Alya said, stepping back and sitting on her bed. She glanced around and saw her notebook, and reached for it, tossing it across the room to her desk. “There. Officially off the record,” she said with a smile.

“Thank you. I know it must be killing you to not go straight into interview mode, so I appreciate the effort,” Ladybug replied.

“Actually...” Alya began, before shaking her head. “Mmm, not important,” she finished.

“If it’s something affecting you, it’s important to me,” Ladybug said, sitting on the chair opposite the girl. “If you’d like to share, I’d be more than happy to listen.”

“Well… I’m, uh… thinking about… stopping the Ladyblog. And… reporting in general…” the girl said, avoiding Ladybug’s gaze.

“What!? But it’s your passion! What happened, why, what’s, I don’t understand Alya!” Ladybug exclaimed, thankful that her brain had reigned in the rant fully. She took a breath and forced herself to focus, Ladybug didn’t know half the stuff about Alya that Marinette did.

“It’s just… I think I might have caused a serious problem. Do you remember, a few weeks back, there was this, like… statue that got Akumatised, somehow,” Alya went on, finger gliding on her phone’s screen until she came to a photo of the statue in question.

“Feast?”

“That’s the one. I think… I might have caused it. I’d done a whole bunch of research about it, the symbols and stuff, and I think Hawkmoth found out, somehow, and used it to do something really bad,” she continued, switching to another app. She held the phone up for Ladybug to see. “A secret monastery, with the same symbols, suddenly appeared out of nowhere after it. I think they’re the people Hawkmoth is working for, like, some supernatural supervillains or something!” she finished, distraught. Ladybug blinked once or twice, before letting out a soft giggle.

“You missed the mark a little there,” she said, between breaths, as Alya pouted and crossed her arms. “The monks are the protectors of the Miraculous. Feast was the one who gobbled them up a long long time ago. Defeating him brought them back. So, if Hawkmoth did find out about it from your research, you technically saved a whole community, possibly even the whole world!” Ladybug said, beaming brightly.

“You really think so?” Alya asked, looking up at the heroine hopefully.

“I really do. Don’t give up on your dream just because one story caused a bit of chaos. You’re finding the truth, you just have to be a little bit more careful with how you give it out,” Ladybug said.

“The truth…” Alya mumbled, her expression sinking once again. “That’s the other part of it. I… have been a bad friend. But that’s really long winded and I don’t want to bother you,” Alya said, clasping her hands together.

“Alya…” Ladybug began, but the anguish on her friend’s face told her not to press the matter. Instead, she leaned across and squeezed her knee gently. “I’m always around if you do want to talk,” she said with a warm smile. Alya returned the smile warmly, and again ladybug felt the little dizziness tingle through her body.

“What was it you wanted to talk about?” Alya asked as she tossed her phone aside.

“W-well, it’s…” she began, after an agonising few moments of thought. She found herself wanting to avoid the conversation, and thankfully, her Yo-yo chose that moment to begin ringing loudly, making both girls jump. “Ah! Sorry, this could be an emergency,” she said, flipping the thing open.

“Ladybug! I need to speak with you, urgently!” Chat’s voice came through the device, loud enough that Alya could hear.

“What’s going on, Chat?” she asked.

“There might be an Akuma on the loose. I think it might be related to yesterday, it seems to be targeting Miraculous holders,” he said, his voice for once lacking the playful lilt.

“Another one already? OK Chat, meet me at the usual spot in ten minutes,” Ladybug said, pushing herself to her feet. “Sorry, Alya, but we need to put this on hold again. I’ll try and come by again soon, OK?” she said.

“OK Ladybug. Stay safe out there,” Alya said, glancing away from the girl.

“I always am,” Ladybug said with a forced smile. She moved to the window, but halted when something jolted through her, a tightness in her guts and her chest that she mistook for fear. Her fingers tapped at her weapon, and it split apart, allowing her to reach inside for the Fox miraculous. “I shouldn’t really… this is…” she mumbled, trying to find the words.

“It’s OK. I know, it’s dangerous to…” Alya began.

“It’s more dangerous to you if you don’t have it!” Ladybug blurted out suddenly. “I-I don’t… want you to get hurt. If you need to, it’s…” she went on, once again lacking the words to adequately say what she wanted.

“Thank you, Ladybug,” Alya said, giving her a smile that brought the dizziness back once again. Ladybug nodded, and, after handing the pendant to the girl, gave her Yo-yo a quick spin and flourish, before zipping up into the rooftops.


	4. Overstepping

Chat was waiting for Ladybug when she arrived at their usual meeting spot, a particular roof that looked out at the Eiffel tower. The bug themed heroine landed a few metres from him, allowing her to cancel her momentum before crashing into the black clad hero.

“Took your time my lady, I was starting to get worried,” he said, but there was a lack of enthusiasm to his words, like he was just saying them because he always said things like that.

“Maybe I just wanted to keep a certain kitty on his beans for once,” she replied with a roll of her eyes. “What’s going on?”

“Some of the revealed Miraculous holders have been falling unconscious. So far I know that at least two have fainted, and when they woke up, they knew nothing about what they’d done as holders,” the boy said, concern present on his face. Ladybug blinked once or twice before letting out a stifled chuckle. “What? This is serious, Bugaboo!”

“Ohhhh, Chat, if only it were as simple as an evil presence sneaking about. I caused the memory loss. Those affected have revoked their claim to the Miraculous, and have forgotten all about them,” she said, laughing in exasperation.

“Wait, you… you did this to Kagami and Nino?” he said, tone growing a little darker. Ladybug looked across at her partner, judging his reaction. She didn’t want to get into an argument with the boy, not while she was so on edge.

“I made a hard choice, Chat. It’s not easy and… wait, how did you know that Nino was a hero?” she asked.

“Uh… feline intuition?” he said, forcing a goofy expression for a moment. “Fine, he let it slip that he was DJing a thing and I figured it out, but I didn’t want to let on because, well, I know him in-” he went on.

“Ahhhh ah ah ah! Don’t say anything, you _just_ said a little slip up let you figure it out, I don’t want to know the little details!” Ladybug said, slapping her hands over her ears.

“Fine! But you can’t just take this away from them, it’s not fair, they didn’t do anything wrong!” Chat appealed to her, fists balling tightly.

“I know that! You think I **want** to do this, to rob my friends of their means of protection? To punish them because an evil buttlord in a luchador mask is a relentless bastard to the citizens of Paris?” she snapped back at him, her own fists curling as she spoke.

“You should’ve spoken with me first! This is exactly what I was talking about before, you always take charge and you never clue me in like everything’s up to you! I’m fed up being your stupid sidekick!” Chat retorted with a snarl.

“Are you kidding me? Did your brain rot or something? You saw what happened with Wang Fu, he gave up being a guardian. It **lit.ter.ral.ly** _is_ up to me now! I have to protect the Miraculous, and those who use them, or else, we lose. _Everyone_ loses!” Ladybug snapped. Memories of Chat Blanc flashed through her mind, the devastation, of her own face crumbling to dust before her eyes. She let out a pained sob as Chat lunged as if to grab hold of her. Upon seeing her reaction, he held himself back, as if realising what he was about to do.

“I… Ladybug, I’m sorry. I forgot that you were a lot closer to him than I was…” he said, slumping against one of the raised sections of the roof. “Sorry. There’s… something else going on, something in my civilian life, that’s got me on edge.”

“I’m sorry too kitty. I guess I was steamrolling you a little, I should have spoken with you. We need to communicate a lot more now, if we doubt one another for even a moment it could spell disaster,” Ladybug replied, rubbing the boy’s arm gently.

“Yeah. We can’t let anything get to us, not Baldyhawk, not our personal stuff… I know I’ve talked about it before buggy, but circumstances have changed and maybe it’s worth us knowing who we are. The guardian knew both our identities, and you’re the guardian now,” he said, looking down at her with an earnest expression.

“Chat…” Ladybug began, the word laden with hesitation. “I’ll think about it. Truly,” she said, glancing out over the city. “I still need to erase a few people’s memories. It’s not safe for them to remember,” she said quietly.

“It… makes sense. I just… people suffer enough after an Akuma, and this is an even bigger memory loss. I’m worried it might be too much for them to deal with alone, y’know,” he said.

“I know kitty,” she replied softly, taking in a deep breath. “So… personal life problems?” she said, trying to change the subject.

“My evil buttlord father has forbidden me from talking to one of my oldest friends. Y’know, standard stuff,” Chat replied casually, and despite herself, Ladybug actually laughed.

“You and I lead very different lives, Chat Noir,” she said with a smile.

Ladybug had every intention of returning to Alya once she and Chat were done. But their conversation son turned to a race, and then to assisting Roger Raincomprix with an incident involving Jagged Stone’s pet and a series of missing dogs. She returned home as it was getting dark with aching bones and the nagging feeling of regret and, after a few moments of quiet contemplation as she transformed back to what she considered her ‘normal girl’ state, she sat down at her desk, flicking her lamp on for some light.

“I wonder if I should give Alya a call. She’s got a lot on her mind and I don’t think she can share everything with Ladybug. I don’t want to make things more awkward…” she said to Tikki, who opened her mouth to begin talking as a lout thud made the girl twist towards the balcony windows. The little sprite vanished into Marinette’s inner pocket as the girl stood, taking cautious steps towards the window. There was a gentle tap on the glass, and Marinette took in a gasp of air.

“Who is it?” she called out.

“Rena Rouge. I need to talk to you, it’s important,” a familiar voice replied in hushed tones. Marinette strode towards the windows and opened them, regarding the heroine with a tilted eyebrow.

“What’s going on? Is there an Akuma?” she asked, stepping back to let the illusionist into her room. Rena stepped inside, allowing Marinette to get a better look at her. Something was off about the costume, something the girl couldn’t quite pinpoint, but she didn’t seem to be acting violently or under Hawkmoth’s control.

“It’s nothing like that, don’t worry. I’ve got a message for you from Alya Cesaire,” the vulpine heroine said, and Marinette’s confusion grew even more.

“Alya? Is something wrong with her, is she OK?” Marinette asked. Rena’s expression twisted as she thought, and Marinette couldn’t help but take a little satisfaction from the fact that she was quicker at thinking on her feet than her friend was.

“She’s sorry,” Rena said after a few seconds of awkward silence. “She wants you to know that. She’s just been a bit worried because she’s not heard from you all weekend.”

“Oh? I must’ve left my phone off the charger by accident again!” Marinette exclaimed, moving to grab the device. She feigned turning it on before slumping her shoulders. “I’m such a dunce!” she lamented.

“That’s good. I’ll let her know so she can stop worrying,” Rena said, her shoulders sagging in an obvious display of her relief. “And you’re not, y’know. She’s told me a lot about you, she thinks you’re amazing,” she added, the faint beginnings of a blush appearing on her cheeks.

“I… thank you. It means a lot, knowing that someone as cool and as awesome as Alya thinks that I’m OK,” Marinette replied, forcing down her giggles as Rena’s blush deepened. A shiver ran through her as something in her body felt… not wrong, but different.

“T-that was all really. I should be going, I wasn’t really supposed to do this but it was a really urgent matter and… well, sometimes you can’t say no to a friend, y’know,” Rena said, and Marinette nodded her head sagely.

“I know exactly what you mean. It’s been nice to meet you, Rena, and thank you for your kind words. Please let Alya know that I’m sorry I missed all her calls, and that I’ll try to remember to charge my phone,” she said with a chuckle. She yawned, partly put on, to hint to the girl that she should now leave.

“Of course! I’ll let her know. Good night Ma-miss Dupain-Cheng!” Rena said, bowing graciously before heading out into the night. Marinette couldn’t help but giggle to herself as she closed the windows behind the heroine.

“I can’t believe she used the Miraculous just to come over to speak to you…” Tikki muttered, zipping out from her hiding place. “You should make sure you get it back from her as soon as you can.”

“I know… I’ll… I’ll see her tomorrow, after school,” Marinette said to the sprite. Yet as she prepared herself to sleep, she found herself thinking that she didn’t want to take it back from her. The something that she couldn’t pinpoint that was different kept bugging her, and she continued thinking about it as she drifted off to sleep.

The air was thick with tension as Marinette walked into Ms Bustier’s classroom. For once she was a little early, but it seemed that most of the class had had the same idea. Only Kim, Nathaniel and Adrien were missing when she walked in. She was relieved to see Max and Nino both seemed fine after renouncing their Miraculous, but she had precious little time to dwell before she got sucked into what was occurring.

“Dude, suck it up and get out of my seat!” Alix said as she chided Alya, who was obstinantly sitting in the space the pint-sized punk girl usually sat. The shorter girl was stood in Mylene’s spot, glaring down at Alya.

“You caused this Kubdel, you gotta deal with it!” Alya snapped back.

“Um… I could just… sit in Alya’s space…” Mylene mumbled, earning a glare from Alix.

“No Mylene! Rule number one, never negotiate with a kidnapper!” the punk girl snapped. Alya let out a callous laugh, folding her arms over her chest.

“Tchah, this is ridiculous,” Nino muttered from his seat, head in his hands.

“…utterly ridiculous…” Chloe mumbled from her seat, not quite quiet enough to be to herself or Sabrina.

“You can’t say anything, you’re the **other** cause of this, Nino Ladouche!” Alya snapped across the room.

“Oh come on!” Nino said, slapping his hands against the desk.

“What’s going on?” Marinette asked to the class in general. Alya’s expression softened for a moment before turning back to Nino and becoming firm and angry again.

“None of us really know, when Juleka and I turned up Alya was already in Alix’s seat and she won’t tell us why,” Rose chimed in, earning a glare from Alya.

“Alya, is this about… what you wanted to talk to me about?” Marinette asked, and Alya nodded her head gently. “Maybe we should go and talk about this somewhere a bit quieter?” she suggested.

“I’m not giving up this seat,” Alya said, defiantly, but she did shift in it.

“Please, Alya?” Marinette asked, giving her a look she had perfected when asking her for favours when it came to asking Adrien out. Alya sighed, and pushed herself up onto her feet.

“Round two when I come back, Kubdel,” she hissed, stomping down the stairs to follow Marinette out of the room. The door slammed behind her, and the room fell into silence, for a few moments.

“Soooo, Nino, trouble in paradise?” Lila asked in a silky smooth tone, as Alix glared across at her.

“You could say that…” he said with a sigh.

“Girl, stop, you don’t eve-” Alya began once they had made it to the locker rooms. Marinette wasted no time, however, and turned on her heels, wrapping the girl into a tight hug.

“I’m sorry! I was an idiot and I left my phone off charge and I should’ve been there for you!” she said, pulling her friend close to her with her hands clasped together just beneath Alya’s shoulder blades. “Please don’t take it out on everyone else; you’re a better person than that,” she finished, heart thundering against her chest.

“I…” Alya mumbled, before leaning against Marinette’s shoulder and letting out a frustrated cry. “RRGGHHH!!! This sucks, it all sucks!”

“What’s happened?” Marinette asked, pulling back from the hug.

“Alix told me after the ice cream meet up, that she heard that Nino kissed Aurore a few days ago at the Louvre. I asked him about it and he got defensive but wasn’t denying it either,” Alya said, rubbing the tears from her eyes that were threatening to fall. “One thing led to another and I think it’s pretty clear that we’re broken up. So I wanted to sit further away from him, and kinda wanted Alix to suffer for her part in it all.”

“You’d rather she’d’ve said nothing and you’d continued not knowing?”

“No. yes. Not… it’s complicated. The truth hurts a lot more than the lie, y’know…” Alya said. Marinette gave her a blank stare for a few moments.

“Yes, it does. But I am aware of the pain caused by lies, also,” she said, in a carefully chosen, even tone. Alya baulked at this, but chose not to press the matter.

“I just wanted to get some space away from him, man, I totally blew this,” she said.

“Perhaps… but how about this? I could ask Rose and Juleka if they’ll be willing to switch with us for the week. We’ll sit up the back, they’ll sit close to Nino,” Marinette suggested.

“You’d do that for me? What about sitting close to Adrien?” Alya asked.

“I can barely string words together around him when you’re around to help me, what makes you think I’d be able to say anything other than ‘it’s meet to nice you’ or my personal favourite, ‘blaaaaaaaagh’,” Marinette said, waggling her arms around vaguely when she mocked herself. “And plus…” she went on, expression souring, “…it’s not like he’d pick a girl like me over someone cool and strong, who actually talks to him and had the courage to ask him out,” she finished with a sigh.

“Girl, you are way too hard on yourself! But thank you, I appreciate it. Let’s go ask Rosie and Grim if they’ll swap with us,” Alya said with a smile.


	5. Rumors

Alya and Marinette returned to the class, which was now full save for the two of them. Lila had taken the initiative to move to the seat behind Adrien, making Marinette flinch a little, but she chose to ignore it for now. Alix was back in her seat, arms crossed defiantly as she glanced across at Alya.

“Done with our little tantrum?” Alix asked, the corners of her mouths perking up into a little smile. Alya took in a deep breath but noticed the girl glancing at the notepad that was sticking out from under her pile of books.

**Play Along. Things Up.**

“Not even slightly, Rumpelstiltskate! But I’m done with you, I’m going to someone who appreciates things like feelings and emotion,” Alya replied with a huff, taking hold of Marinette by the arm before she could object. As the girls stepped past Kim and Ivan the boys elbowed one another, and there came a mumble from the former, which they chose to ignore.

“Rose, Juleka, would you mind taking our spots at the front for a few days? Alya’s going through some things,” Marinette said, addressing the two.

“I guess…” Juleka said, with a shrug.

“Anything to help out! Especially when it comes to young lo-mmpphhh!” Rose began, before Juleka clamped her hand over the girls mouth.

“What was that?” Alya asked, eyebrow arching.

“Ohh, nothing, nothing~ Just prepared to support you both in your reluuupph!” Rose began, before being silenced by Juleka again. There was a mumbling from some of the rest of the class.

“OK, what’s going on?” Marinette asked.

“You don’t need to hide it Marinette. Lila told us what’s going on, and, well, it’s not cool how you did it, but we all still support you both,” Kim said with a smile. She turned to him and a little wave of relief shot through her that he seemed unaffected by the magical shenanigans she had put him through.

“Cheating is very questionable, but the path of love is often littered with obstacles,” Max said, glancing over at Kim.

“I still don’t know what you’re talking about? What did you tell them?” Marinette asked, turning to Lila.

“Don’t be shy girls! Everyone wanted to know what the drama was between Alya and Nino was, and I just told them. Alya and Nino split up because Alya has been dating Marinette for a while now,” the Italian girl said in sweet tones.

“**What**!?” Alya exclaimed, slamming her palm down onto the desk.

“That’s not… exactly right, I mean…” Nino began.

“Of course, I didn’t know that when I saw him with Aurore, but I just _had_ to tell someone because cheating is terrible!” Lila went on, enjoying the look on Marinette’s face as it began to turn redder and redder.

“That’s not true!” Marinette cried out, taking a step away from Lila and Alya.

“You don’t need to deny it Marinette. We all discussed it and since Nino is OK with it despite everything, we’re all OK with it,” Mylene added.

“It’s not true! He cheated on me!” Alya snapped again, glaring daggers at Lila and Nino.

“It wasn’t cheating…” Nino again tried to add.

“Lila, stop, this is too much now,” Adrien warned, but his comments fell on deaf ears.

“Don’t be upset Marinette. I know this isn’t how you wanted it but, to keep the peace, it was for the best, wouldn’t you agree; to keep everything peaceful and calm?” Lila said, staring directly at her.

“No!” Marinette shrieked suddenly, scrambling away from the window as a shadow coloured butterfly flew through it towards her. The familiar flash of purple wings sent everyone else running away, but Marinette found herself unable to move, crippled by fear. Only Alya remained, trying to pull her away from the encroaching bug.

“Marinette! You have to move!” Adrien cried out. Marinette turned to face him, then glanced to Alya. Her chest twinged. Kagami’s words from the previous day passed briefly through her memory, and she took a deep breath. And stepped forward. The butterfly was now a foot away from her.

“No. I’m not going to get upset, or afraid. I have nothing to be upset about,” she said, staring down at the Akuma which halted its advance, flittering about near her but not getting closer.

“What?” Lila and Alya both said near simultaneously.

“Lila, you need to stop. Alya and I aren’t going out, Alya definitely didn’t cheat on Nino, and I suspect Nino didn’t cheat on her either. But if you think you’re going to make me embarrassed or ashamed of the idea of dating my best friend, you’re sorely mistaken,” she said.

“Oh, we’ll see about that,” Lila snapped suddenly, pushing past Alya as she stormed up the steps. She grabbed at the flittering Akuma, locking eyes with Marinette again as the glowing purple shape of Hawkmoth’s power formed upon her face. “I’d run if I were you, it’ll make it a bit more interesting,” she hissed.

Five minutes of utter chaos later, Marinette was huddled under a desk. She kept watch of the Akuma through the shattered windows of the classroom, catching glimpses of her black wings flapping as she flew. Lila had become something far different to the usual gaudy and brightly coloured monsters that Hawkmoth usually created, in almost sheer black with red eyes, large leathery wings and elongated talons and claws. A white mask rested on her face, mouthless and eyeless, but with black triangles representing her eyes and mouth.

“Come out and Play Marinette!” it’s voice carried across the courtyard, causing the girl to shudder. There came a sound akin to screaming played in reverse, as the Akuma began to summon a figure in her hands. It was a miniature version of herself, with colours inverted, which she then propelled, spirit wave style, towards the building. “I heard that wall is falling down!” she said as it struck. Reality warped, and suddenly, the wall was indeed seconds away from crumbling, which it then did. Marinette let out a panic as she dashed from her hiding place to another, less visible one.

“Come on kitty, I really need you right now!” Marinette hissed to herself as she glanced back out into the courtyard. The class, save for Alya, Chloe, Adrien and Nathaniel, were kneeling in two lines in front of the Akuma.

“Oh Marineeeeette,” she called out again, voice a curious mix of feedback noise, distortion and reversal noise, utterly grated on Marinette’s nerves. “Don’t tell me you’re waiting for the heroes! Whatever happened to the bravado? You said you had no reason to be afraid, why don’t you come out and prove it?” it asked, before cackling again as it caught a movement on the roof, summoning another one of its facsimiles. “Besides, I heard that Chat Noir wouldn’t even be able to approach through the air around Rumoria!” she said, letting the beam pop in her hand, showering the air around her in white sparkled light.

“I beg to differ!” Chat’s voice exclaimed as he revealed his hiding spot, twisting his staff over his head once or twice before planting it onto the roof. He launched himself upwards, and twisted in the air, aiming a flying kick directly at the Akuma’s masked face. Reality twisted again, and the hero landed on the roof where he had jumped from with a firm thud.

“What… just happened?” he asked, looking around before trying the movement again. The advance played out in exactly the same way as before, leap, twist, ready an attack, land back where he had jumped off from.

“Oops. I guess my rumor was true after all! Ahahaha!” Rumoria cackled, turning her attention back to the building. She narrowed her eyes, before letting out a snarl. “She’s gone! Where is she!?” she snarled, as Chat attempted to get close to her again, only to once again reappear where he had begun. “You all, look for her! I heard you could all track her like bloodhounds!” she snarled, twisting to face the class, summoning another handful of miniature white Rumorias to shoot into the class.

“Tikki, this is bad, this is really, really, really bad!” Marinette panted as she ran from the school towards her home. She was thankful that her mother had told her about a big catering event that she and Marinette’s father were both attending on the outskirts of town earlier that day, it gave her a more guilt free time doing so.

“Why did she purposefully take the Akuma? She knows what they do!” Tikki squeaked, zipping through the air alongside her companion.

“I think she knew exactly what it would do, and I think she intended it. She made up a whole rumor about Alya and Nino, but her words were all targeted at me. She wanted to Akumatise me,” Marinette said, pulling out her phone with one hand.

_Al if u’re 100% go gt hlp U kno Rena she cn hlp_ she sent to Alya, hoping that she would read the real message of ‘transform and stall’ and that she could hold back the demonic Rumoria while she brought in some more reinforcements. She barged through their back door and thundered up the stairs, bursting through her room door. A quick search through her wardrobe and she held the miraculous in her hands. She set them and the strange egg on her bed before saying the magical words to her Kwami companion, transforming into the spotted heroine there and then. Her Yo-yo began ringing almost the moment the blinding light faded, and she clicked it open, holding it to her ear.

“Coccinelle laundry and Akuma removal, this is Ladybug speaking,” she said into the speaker as she paced over to the wide balcony doors.

“Hi, I’ve got this uhhhhh Akuma problem at the school and **what the heck is taking you so long**?” Chat clamoured through the speaker, and the girl rolled her eyes.

“Well I ran into a scared, desperate citizen called Marinette and apparently she’s being hunted by an, oh what was it, an Akuma? So I thought I’d get her somewhere safe instead of leaving her to her fate, no biggie,” she replied sarcastically. She felt a little guilty about twisting the truth just to make the boy feel bad, but she was still a little miffed with him from their conversation before.

“To be fair, my lady, Marinette is probably one of the few citizens in Paris who could hold her own against any old Akuma, but this one is not only targeting her directly but it’s strong, really strong,” Chat answered, and Ladybug nodded to herself.

“On my way, hopefully with some reinforcements too,” she said, clicking the toy closed. “Lucky Charm!” she exclaimed, calling on her magical power to give her a hint at a solution to the Akuma problem. She grabbed it as it fell, brow wrinkling.

“What on earth am I supposed to do with a tv remote?” she asked herself, as she glanced around the room. Her eyes fell upon her little disc player, then to the DVD she had last been watching, and then on the piled Miraculous, with the Horse, Bee and Turtle charms standing out at her.

“Well, that’s an idea…” she said, letting her transformation fall off once again. She fed Tikki, and began to explain her plan to the spotted kwami, putting the twhree Miraculous charms into her pocket. A few minutes later, she burst out of her room and out into the Parisian skyline.

“Ladybug!” Rena exclaimed as the hero landed near her on the dome of a building. The streets were swarming with human-sized clones of Rumoria, all with their own miniature negative versions in hand.

“Glad I did leave you the Miraculous after all,” Ladybug said as she slid down the dome to the railed edge that Rena was stood on.

“I think I might’ve preferred not using it, given the situation. It’s bad, buggy. Rumoria has the power to make her lies, or ‘rumors’ into reality. So she could say ‘I heard that Ladybug removes her earrings if you ask her nicely’ and if she hits you with the weird minibeam thing then all she’d have to do is ask you nicely and you’d take them off!” the svelte heroine said, twisting her flute nervously in her hands.

“Ladies! A pleasure to get the old gang back together again, Ladybug, a quick word,” Chat called across at them.

“Can’t it wait? There is a little bit of a situation,” she replied.

“It is a little bit pressing,” Chat answered a little crossly.

“Then you can say it as we move,” she said, nodding over to where a group of the enthralled Akuma victims had spotted them, and were swiftly approaching.

“I was just curious why Rena is here is all, I thought you had made that decision about things that I had no say in,” he snipped back at her as he began to move, ducking and rolling away from the blasts that the group had begun to fire at them.

“That’s a little complicated!” she answered, swinging down to dodge a beam of her own.

“Lovers’ quarrel?” Rena asked with a chuckle.

“Uugh, no. It’s complicated, like I said. I’ll explain later, for now, we need to find the real Rumoria,” Ladybug said.

“About that… I know where she is, she’s at the base of the Eiffel Tower. Buuuuut, I have a bit of a problem. I can’t get close to her, every time I tried, I blip back to where I moved from. She’s not kitten around,” he said, wiggling his eyesbrows.

“Did he just?”

“Uugh, yes. I’d like to say you get used to it, but it’s been months now and I still feel just the tiniest part of my die inside whenever he puns,” Ladybug said, wrapping around a tall spire to get behind the group, using the momentum to launch her weapon at one of the group. The creature let out a wail, and in a puff of smoke, became the citizen who had been overcome by the power. Chat landed on a roof and launched himself backwards, catching the falling woman before landing with a flourish.

“Not pulling any punches today I see, my lady. Your words they do wound me so,” he said, setting the woman on her feet before dodging away from more beam blasts.

“Well, maybe that’ll make you realise that I’m not interested in you, Kittycat,” Ladybug replied with just a hint of sarcasm.

“Not yet,” Chat replied with a smile.


	6. Deception

“I know what’s going on, you know,” Chloe’s voice carried around the courtyard beneath the towering metal structure. Rumoria glared down at her, arms crossed across her chest.

“And what do you think is going on, buzzy bug?” she snarled, in the same distorted voice that sent shivers down the blonde’s spine. “Oh no, that’s right, you’re not the queen bee around here anymore, are you? Not even hawkmoth could save you from screwing that up,” she continued with a callous laugh. Chloe flinched.

“He didn’t help me. He exploited me, my emotional state, everything negative about me, and he took advantage of it,” Chloe replied evenly, hands balled into tight fists.

“So… you’re saying that you’re a horrible, horrible person, and he just used that to his advantage?” Rumoria retorted with an amused smirk.

“Yes,” Chloe stated bluntly. This took the Akuma by surprise.

“Hmph! How pathetic, you even admit yourself to be garbage. What use do you even have?” she cackled, looming over the blonde as she summoned one of her miniatures. “Probably not even good enough to make a decent slave…”

“Probably… and I admit, now that I’m beyond useful to Hawkmoth, he’s discarded me. I wonder if he’ll do that to anyone else around here?” Chloe replied, standing firm as the demonic Lila advanced on her.

“It’s different! You didn’t even know who he is, I do! He and I are going to rule this city once I get him the Miraculous!” Rumoria snapped, slamming her free hand into the ground, fingers either side of the bratty girl.

“Well, that at least makes me feel glad,” Chloe said, faint smile sneaking onto her lips, “because he never trusted me enough to tell me that, which means he knew there was at least a little good in me. But you, Lie-la Rossi, are evil, to the very core. I’m a bitch, but you, you’re a c-” Chloe began. A ball of energy struck the tower just above the two of them, sending sparks of lighting and clouds of dark smoke billowing out.

“Rumoria! Prepare to face the truth!” Ladybug’s distinct voice cried out as she landed a few hundred feet from the Akuma. Behind her, Chat, Carapace and Rena landed, and behind them, almost a dozen other suited heroes in animal themed costumes appeared. There was no Bee amongst them, but every Zodiac creature seemed to be represented.

“The truth is rigid and weak! It can barely get going before a lie has made it all the way around the world! Lies are comfort, the truth hurts! Why should anyone bother with the boring, painful, hard, horrible truth when lies can give them everything they ever wanted!” Rumoria snapped back as she drew herself away from Chloe and up to her full height. She let out a noise that was a mix of distortion and feedback, a screeching, grating loop of noise that echoed around the whole city. As one, her thralls shot up into the air, a swarm of miniature Rumorias.

“Miracle League! We only need to take her out, clear a path!” Carapace exclaimed, as the rooster user, a short boy with red hair, took a hold of him from behind. Neon red wings spread from the user’s back, and the two were launched into the sky.

“Pathetic! I hear the winds around the Eiffel tower make it impossible to fly near it!” Rumoria snapped, launching another of her clones at the tower. A swirling vortex of chaotic gusts and swirling eddies of wind engulfed the tower, sending the two superheroes into disorder. “You’re only setting back the eventual, Ladybug!”

“Far be it from me to question you, Ladybug, but isn’t this plan risky?” Rena asked as she crouched behind a bin in an alleyway, idling fiddling with the Turtle bracelet Ladybug had given her as she watched the chaos that her illusion was wreaking. The second Miraculous had taken a lot out of the girl, but she was managing to hold everything together, applying the turtle’s physicality to her illusions. It gave them a physical form, and made them as durable as the supposed heroes would have been.

“So long as the kitty cat does his job, it’ll be fine,” Ladybug replied as she slid a pair of glasses onto her face. Rena’s eyes widened when Ladybug looked up at her, and the foxy hero quickly turned away to hide the redness that was rising on her cheeks.

“Do I look that bad with glasses?” Ladybug asked with a note of genuine concern in her voice. Rena quickly coughed and shook her head hurriedly.

“N-no! It looks, you look, it’s, it’s good! Very… very cute, er, good and not bad,” the heroine stammered, and Ladybug chuckled a little.

“That’s good. My…” she began, before hesitating. “I suppose it can’t hurt. One of my grandparents wears glasses so I’ve always been a little worried I might have to at some point too,” she said, touching the central bridge of the accessory to push it further up her nose.

“I think you shouldn’t worry about how other people think they look. So long as you’re happy with them, that’s the only important bit,” Rena replied, smiling back at her hero.

“Thank you. OK, now let’s see if my plan’s going to work,” Ladybug said, a little doubt in her voice.

“How _did_ you come up with something like this anyway?” Rena asked, and Ladybug glanced to one side. She could hardly admit that she had the idea from catching a glimpse of the Majestia and the League of Heroes DVD Alya had lent her, it would give away too much.

“Err… I guess it these ideas just come to me as part of the magic?” Ladybug replied, glancing away from her friend. “Stay here and keep the illusion going as long as you can, it’s important to let me get everything set up. I believe in you!” Ladybug said, patting Rena on the shoulder before heading out into the open. She ducked behind a few cars, making her way closer to the action as the fake heroes all around her battled with the enthralled citizens.

“OK Tikki, Kaalki, time to Unify,” she said, and, for a moment her transformation dropped, and her body was covered in brilliant white light. When the light faded, she found herself still mostly in red and black, but her shoulders were now covered in a dark brown almost leather-like armour, as were her knees. Her hair had pulled out of its pigtails, and plaited itself into a stylish bun with a short cascade of loose hair behind it. To her delight, she even had shoes now. “Why is it that every hero has a better suit than me? Tikki and I are going to have a Discussion when all this is done…” she muttered to herself, before calling for her Lucky Charm. The magical power swirled up and over her, flashing to reveal a hugely coiled length of thick metal cable. Her lip curled into a smile as she grabbed the cable, and let out a sigh of relief.

“Finally I’m starting to get the hang of these powers, this is perfect,” she said, uncurling it and tying it to a nearby lamp post.

“Voyage!” she exclaimed, and a portal emerged a few feet from the loop, which she pulled to make sure it was tight. Taking a deep breath, she stepped into the portal.

“You’re not going to win you know,” Chloe muttered, shielding herself from the vortex of wind as she watched the Akuma snarl at the gathered heroes.

“Shut up!” Rumoria snapped, glaring down at the girl. “You are the most insufferable person I have ever met, save for that goody goody airhead Marinette!” she snapped.

“Hah! And there we go, that is exactly what I was talking about. Your whole ‘work with Hawkmoth’ thing, god, it’s ridiculous, utterly ridiculous! At least my idiocy was for power…” Chloe replied, rolling her eyes at the monstrous girl.

“What the hell are you talking about,” Rumoria growled, landing mere feet in front of the girl, snarling at her.

“You’re just as jealous of Marinette as I am. You don’t understand how someone can just... _be_ that nice without wanting anything in return, so you target her to make her feel bad,” Chloe said, taking a step back from the advancing figure. Rumoria lunged forward and slammed a hand into the ground beside Chloe, rupturing the concrete with her claws.

“You dare insinuate that I care about that girl in any way whatsoever again, and I will go to great lengths to make sure you suffer just as much as she does. Did you hear? I heard that Marinette Dupain-Cheng is afraid of breathing,” she said, tilting her head to one side as her hand began to glow. “But, did I hear that about Chloe Bourgeois too? Hmm, I can’t quite remember,” she hissed.

“I’m fairly certain that’s a lie, Rumoria! Spreading false information so willingly, so shameful,” Ladybug’s voice cried out as she stepped through the crowd of heroes. Rumoria scoffed, turning away from Chloe to face her foe.

“And yet, so easy! I hear that Rumoria’s going to defeat you, and that you’re going to hand your earrings over to her, Ladybug!” she snarled, letting the beam she had summoned for Chloe shift, before firing at the heroine, who stood there, taking the blast head on.

“You’ll have to do better than that! Pegase, take me in! Viperion, cover me in case it-” Ladybug began, when another blast shot from behind them, striking the snake themed hero, turning them into another clone of the Akuma. Ladybug’s eyes widened. “No!” she exclaimed, turning to the horse themed hero. “Now!”

“Voya-” he began, only to be blasted as well.

“No! No, no no!” Ladybug exclaimed, leaping away as even more blasts came in. In her panic, she vaulted towards Rumoria herself, who let out a little cackle of glee, and swatted at the heroine, who took the blow head on. She was knocked into the girders of the tower, where more of the mini clones assaulted her, holding her fast.

“Ladybug!” Chloe exclaimed, a look of fear crossing her features. As Rumoria moved closer, a purple butterfly shaped glow appeared around her eyes.

“Excellent work Rumoria! Now, claim her Miraculous and this fight is as good as won!” Hawkmoth’s voice echoed from the glowing light, and Rumoria smirked.

“I intend to!” she snapped, leaning forwards. Her claws pinched at the struggling heroine, who flinched away until she could not escape. “Bye bye buggie, hello, brat behind the mask,” she snarled, pinching the earrings between her claws. She pulled, and the earrings came loose, thankfully not bringing Ladybug’s ears with them. But the heroine did not transform.

“What the….” Rumoria muttered.

“What!?” Hawkmoth roared through the purple glow.

“Ohhhh, did I forget to tell you the truth? That’s on me, my bad. Actually every hero here is an illusion created by Rena Rouge to distract you while the real Ladybug does this,” the earring-less Ladybug said, poking her tongue out cheekily at the hero, before vanishing in a puff of smoke. Rumoria’s head snapped around as the rest of the heroes began to vanish, revealing that she was trapped in a cage of metal string, intertwined around her by a series of portals.

“You’re trapped, Rumoria! And there’s no way out!” Ladybug called out from above. She dropped down from the gantry above, landing just outside the sphere of metal. “I’ll admit it took me longer than I wanted to get this all done, so kudos to Rena for lasting as long as she did, and I did have to improvise by blocking you in with that display as well, not enough cable for the full cage, but I think it does the job,” she said with a sweet smile, tapping the toes of her boots against the cable.

“Hmm… hmmhmm… hmhmhahaha! Hahahahahaha! Fool! Idiot! Absolute, goody two shoes annoyance! You have me in your pretty cage, but I can just as easily break out! I don’t even need to change reality, you worthless bug!” Rumoria snapped.

“What? No! How could I have been so stupid!” Ladybug exclaimed, as Rumoria turned toward the advertising display, claws drawn.

“Ladybug! What were you thinking!?” Chloe snapped, turning to face the woman, who gave her a subtle wink.

“I will be free, and you, idiotic bug, have put yourself in the centre of my army, alone!” Rumoria snapped, swishing her claw into the display. Through the display. Without damaging it at all. “What the?” she began, swishing through it again. “Rrrrgh! Confound your illusions and da-” she began, pausing in place.

“Hey Ladybug, I heard a rumor that you were going to give me a sweet little kiss on the cheek for stopping Rumoria in her tracks,” Chat Noir said, as the illusory advertising board that hid him faded, the last of Rena’s illusions finally falling off. The boy’s costume was criss crossed with yellow stripes on the thighs and upper arms, and one of his hands, the one that was in contact with Rumoria, was encased in a black ball with a long pointed spike at the end of it.

“Well that’s the problem with wild rumors Kittycat, once you start believing them, you might think that the impossible could happen,” she replied with a smirk, crossing the distance to the frozen villain. “At least it worked. If you couldn’t go to her, she would have to go to you!”

“Well, it’s about time!” Chloe said as she approached the pair. Ladybug glared back at her and the act was enough to make the blonde physically recoil as if she had been punched.

“We need to figure out where the Akuma is. I couldn’t tell while I was making the cage and nothing seems obvious,” Chat said as he glanced over the demonic Akuma.

“I… think I know,” Chloe said, holding her hand up. She recoiled again as Ladybug turned to face her.

“What do you know?” Ladybug asked coldly.

“When she… when she took hold of the Akuma… she didn’t put it into anything. She held it close to her chest. I think… I think she IS the Akumatised object…” Chloe said, squirming under Ladybug’s gaze. The heroine blinked once or twice.

“But we have to destroy the object to get the Akuma,” she said quietly.

“And your power usually fixes the object after,” Chat pointed out.

“I know but…”

“Ladybug. If she has taken the Akuma into herself, she might not… be herself anymore. I don’t even know if my Cataclysm will get the thing out of her,” Chat said. Ladybug nodded slowly, as a ringing sounded in her ears.

“And I only have two minutes… we can’t let her get free, she’s too powerful an Akuma. But we don’t know what the Cataclysm will do… uugh, I can’t think, what do I do, what do I do?” Ladybug muttered, pacing back and forth.

“We,” Chat Noir responded calmly.

“What?”

“What do we do. Team decision, remember. I’m going to Cataclysm her,” Chat said, eyes closed. “I take full responsibility for what happens. Chloe, you are our witness,” he said, summoning forth his power before Ladybug could speak.

“Wait, stop! Chat! We need to talk about this!” she exclaimed.

“No, we don’t. You’re the hero, you can’t make this choice. I, on the other shadowy glowing hand, can, and have done,” he said, placing his hand upon Rumoria’s stomach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Complete asshole. That's what Chloe was going to say. Get your head out of the gutter. :P


	7. Memories

Lila let out a faint groan as she came to, blinking once or twice as the harsh light threatened to overwhelm her eyes. She moved slowly, shielding her sight with an arm, the other used to push herself into a seated position.

“You’re back with us then,” Chloe’s voice said, laden with her typical idle boredness. “The heroes had to run off with a case of the beeps, so I get to be the one to bring you back to school, yaay,” she went on, sarcasm dripping from every word.

“Heroes?” Lila asked in a hoarse voice, every bone in her body ached and she felt like she could hear her blood thundering through her.

“Ladybug and Chat Noir. Oh, and someone using the Fox miraculous. Probably Rena Rouge the lucky bi…” she began, before taking a deep breath. “Person. Lucky person. She’s earned Ladybug’s trust, and that’s something I still need to do. A lot of…” she finished with a mumble.

“Um… what’s going on?” Lila asked softly, looking around until her eyes fell upon the stuck up blonde.

“You were Akumatised. Again. At this point you’re almost rivalling me for most times akumatised,” Chloe said, rolling her eyes at the girl.

“Akuma… tised? What does that mean?” Lila asked.

“You are joking right? Becoming infected by an Akuma, a butterfly laden with Hawkmoth’s power, which draws on your darkest emotions to make you into a monster bent to his evil whims?” Chloe said.

“Um… that sounds very implausible, are you sure you didn’t hit your head too? I assume that’s what’s happened to me,” Lila replied, staring blankly back at Chloe. The heiress moved forward slowly, locking eyes with the girl.

“You’re a good liar, Lila Rossi, but no-one will believe this. No-one would fathom for even a second that you have conveniently lost all memory of what you did before, what you became… and you’re smart enough to know that,” Chloe said, becoming pensive.

“I… really don’t know what you’re talking about, but… you know my name, and... you know that I’ve… lied a lot, so, you must know me. I’m sorry if I’ve made you suffer but, please know, I didn’t mean any ill by it, I promise. I was just… scared, a lot, about new people, constantly moving, it was easier to make up things about me, interesting things, so people would like me quickly,” Lila said, withdrawing from the piercing blue gaze. “I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt anyone but it all got away from me and then… and then…” she continued, letting out a series of sobs. Chloe watched the girl cry for a few moments, expecting her to glance up, but the sobbing continued, growing until she was letting out full blown wails.

“Uh… th-this is really realistic, even for… you… shit,” she said, kneeling next to the prone girl. “Um… there there?” she said, patting at Lila’s shoulder pathetically. “I don’t know… how to deal with this. When I’m upset, I get people to buy me things. Um… do you want a bracelet?” she said, as Lila continued to sob and blubber.

“I… I want… my parents… to live together… and to… have some friends!” Lila wailed, her tears renewed as she rested her head in her hands. Chloe moved in a little closer, and began to slowly move her hand back and forth over the girl’s shoulder.

“You… really don’t remember, do you?” she practically whispered. Lila shook her head slowly, mumbling in the negative. “How old do you think you are, Lila?”

“E-eleven,” the girl replied softly, between her sobs.

“Ohhhh boy…”

“Chloe! What on earth did you do to her?” Ladybug’s voice called out as she swung back into the scene with Chat following close behind her.

“Nothing! I swear, for once, I truly didn’t do anything!” the blonde answered, looking up at the angry expression on Ladybug’s face. Instinctively, and entirely automatically, she moved closer to the crying girl, putting an arm in front of her.

“Why am I unconvinced?” Ladybug replied, but her expression quickly changed when she noticed that Lila had taken hold of the hem of Chloe’s top and was leaning in to hide behind her. “Lila?” she asked, her tone a lot softer.

“I’m sorry!” the girl squeaked between her tears.

“She’s forgotten it, Ladybug. Everything,” Chloe said quietly.

“Oh.”

A few minutes of calming the girl down later, an ambulance arrived at the scene. The heroes and Chloe explained the situation, and Lila was taken to hospital. Ladybug begrudgingly thanked Chloe for her assistance and told her that she was glad to see her taking a step towards improvement, and to keep it up this time. The heroine tried to make her way off before talking with Chat, but he persistently followed her until she couldn’t feign ignorance any longer.

“So, are we going to have this talk?” he said, shrinking his pole back to its compact size, stashing it behind his back. Ladybug sighed, and sat down on an extractor fan case.

“I guess so. Before you say anything though, I want to make something clear,” she said, glaring across at him.

“Oh?”

“Yes. You are my partner. We are a team. I am not, in any way, trying to somehow usurp that, make you my sidekick, push you out, anything like that. You’re one of my closest friends, and I love you, platonically,” she said, forcing a small smile across her lips. His shoulders visibly sagged as the tension he had been holding vanished.

“Phew. That actually does make me feel a lot better, I was… not doubting you, but, doubting myself I guess? Or doubting Master Fu? There was a lot of doubt,” he said, sitting on a riser opposite her.

“I don’t doubt it,” she replied. Chat stared at her blankly, and she couldn’t help but let out a little giggle. That, in turn, made him chuckle, and in a few moments both heroes were laughing like loons.

“Ohh Chat, what on earth have we gotten ourselves into?” Ladybug said, slumping down from her seat to the ground, legs curling up against her stomach. “Hawkmoth is stronger than ever, we’re down several team members and our only source of knowledge is gone,” she continued, wrapping her arms around her knees.

“Come on Bugaboo, it’s not so bad. We stopped one of the most powerful Akumas ever in no time at all!” Chat answered, trying to raise her mood.

“But we still needed help, and that put Alya at even more risk. I… when you called me yesterday, I was about to ask her to renounce her Miraculous, but you sounded so panicked, I… I panicked myself, and gave her the pendant. I wasn’t able to get back to her after, and when the Akuma hit, I asked her to transform again,” she said, looking up at him.

“I understand. It was a snap decision. We’ve both had to make those today,” he said, wiggling his fingers feebly.

“Yeah… I didn’t mean to single Alya out, but… I…” Ladybug paused, torn between revealing more, and wanting to be honest to Chat. “She’s important to me,” she finished, taking a deep breath.

“I know. She’s your first fan, and even though the whole ‘try and find out who you are’ thing was a problem, it’s like, she was focused on you, so you want to protect her. I’m the same, there’s this girl I know, kinda clumsy, kinda airheaded, but she’s, like… one of my most important friends. Without her, I’m almost certain I wouldn’t be the Chat Noir I am today. I’d be way more arrogant and flirty,” he said, ending by poking his tongue out.

“Remind me to pay homage to this girl every single day if this is you under control,” Ladybug replied with a laugh. She sighed again, and hung her head. “I have to get her safe, don’t I?” she said.

“I’m sorry Bugaboo. It’s the only way,” Chat replied solemnly.

After taking her leave from Chat, Ladybug returned to her home, transformed and quickly shot Alya a message telling her that she was safe, and asking what was going on. The response was almost immediate, a string of tear and heart emojiis followed by a request for her to return to school. When she got there she found Alya pacing around in the locker room with the rest of the girl squad.

“What’s going on?” she asked, panting a little to get her breath back.

“Uh…” Mylene mumbled.

“Alya’s scared to go back into class,” Alix said, nonchalantly. Alya snapped round to glare at the skater, thrusting a finger at her.

“YOU! Are the reason I have this problem in the first place!” she growled, and Alix crossed her arms over her chest stubbornly.

“We’ve been over this already!” Alix replied, matching Alya’s glare.

“Over what?” Marinette asked.

“Over the fact that I often… believe the wrong person in an argument,” Alya said, glancing towards Marinette.

“I’ve noticed,” she replied sarcastically, and Alya practically winced at the response.

“We’ve talked about everything, and we wanted to let you know what we came up with,” Rose pipped in, stepping forwards. “Alix found out the rumor from Lila second hand. Lila was telling someone else, friends of Aurore, and she told Alya after talking it over with her confidante,” she finished.

“Someone who will remain nameless to keep them neutral,” Alix said.

“So, Nathaniel then,” Marinette said. Alix baulked at this.

“Hey, snitch!”

“What? He’s the only person you hang out with outside of the girl squad who would actually care to listen. Kim and Max are good boys, but they are _boys_, whereas Nath is… he’s…” Marinette struggled for the right word.

“Soft?” Alix supplied.

“Quiet?” Rose asked.

“Gay,” Juleka said bluntly. The girls turned to face her, and Marinette subtly nodded her head.

“So, Alix then told Alya, and tried to tell her to investigate, but for some reason that only made her mad,” Rose went on, and Alya glanced away again.

“I, uh… so, I was going to tell you all but… I’m thinking of shutting down the Ladyblog. Or, I was. It’s complicated. I’ve been a crappy journalist and a crappy friend, and I need to be better. But to be a better friend, I think I need to stop being a journalist,” she said glumly.

“I don’t think that’s true,” Marinette said, pacing over to her forlorn friend. “You just need to learn how to turn Journalist Alya off when you’re dealing with certain situations. Don’t give up on your dream because of one problem. If I did that, I’d’ve given up years ago!” she said, smiling sweetly.

“Awww, you two make such a good couple!” Rose squeaked, before being elbowed by Juleka as Marinette’s eyes widened.

“That was also not true, wasn’t it?” the gothy girl asked. Marinette opened her mouth once or twice, her cheeks beginning to redden.

“Another complete fabrication from Lie-La Rossi. God I can’t believe I hung off her every word, I was so stupid. Marinette, I’m so, so sorry,” Alya said.

“What? Nooo! It’s fine! It’s fine, it’s fine, really, it’s OK! No harm no foul, water under the bridge, definitely fine, no homo, it’s all good, not dating and it’s totally fine!” Marinette stammered. She looked around at the girls, as her mind went into overdrive to think up an excuse for her behaviour. “Uhhh… sorry, it’s… being chased by an Akuma was scary,” she said with a sigh.

“It really is,” Mylene said sagely.

“So, the problem at hand, Alya’s scared of Nino!” Marinette squeaked, trying to get the attention away from her.

“Right!” Alix said, snapping her fingers.

The day ended without any real resolution, Alya had snuck into class and avoided Nino during it, and once it was over she had used the mass movement to sneak out of the room before he had a chance to catch her. She sent Marinette a message apologising for fleeing without her, and Marinette prepared to go home.

“Hey, uh, Marinette? Can we… talk?” Kim’s voice asked as she closed her locker. Marinette turned to see the tall boy looking rather sheepish, scratching at his chin with a finger.

“Sure Kim, what’s up?” she said jovially, smiling up at him.

“Uh… I just wanted to say uh… it wasn’t cool what Lila did. Outing you and Alya like that, it was, uh…” he said, struggling with the words that didn’t quite want to come out of his mouth. Marinette gave him a weak smile, and began to head towards the entrance. He followed on after her.

“Thank you Kim, but I’m sorry to say, Lila was lying. Alya and I aren’t dating,” she replied quietly. The look of disappointment on the boy’s face pulled at her heartstrings, and she felt compelled to hug him, but she held back the urge.

“O-oh. I… well, that’s… good? I think? That she didn’t, like… you weren’t forced to, like…” he continued awkwardly as they paced down the stairs at the school’s entrance.

“I think I understand what you’re trying to say, Kim. I really appreciate it,” she said, reaching forward to take hold of one of his hands, patting it gently. “I’m glad you have my back.”

“Heh… You know I always do,” he replied, smiling back at her, taking her hand in his own in a short but elaborate hand shake.

“So, how’re things with your… um… so, you know with, with you and… and Ondine, and… Max,” Marinette continued.

“Um… well, they’re… you know…” he replied, cheeks flushing brightly. Marinette let out a chuckle.

“Team ‘Not-quite-ready-to-talk-about-it’,” she said with a smirk. Kim laughed at that, and nodded his head.

“Oh man, I remember that, we had a team name for everything! Team No-I'm-Not-Japanese, Team Adventure, Team Lonely-Kitten, Team Accidental-Explosion!” he said, patting the girl on the back firmly. “Aww, good times. Anyway, I gotta head off. If you ever need help with… y’know, stuff, don’t be afraid to come to me,” he said.

“Thanks Kim. I will,” she said with a smile. They said their goodbyes, and Marinette headed home.


	8. Redesign

Marinette spent a bit of time at home helping her mother clean up the bakery, rewarding herself with a plateful of leftover cookies and a short session of Ultimate Mecha Strike III with her dad, before heading to her room. She fully intended to get her homework done, relax a little, and go to bed, but the conversation with Kim had gotten into her head, and an hour after she headed to her room, she had half a dozen sketches in one of her books.

“Tikki, how much control do you have over Ladybug?” she asked the floating creature, who had been working her way through the cookies that the girl had given her.

“I can’t make you do things when you transform but I do know what you do,” she replied, patting her chin in thought.

“What about the appearance? Could you, for example, change it so that I have boots instead of the second skin covering?” Marinette asked, tapping at one of the designs with the top of her pencil. Tikki glanced down at it, tilting her head to one side.

“Um… I’ve never really tried. It was always up to the human to make the design, really. I think it’s a subconscious thing, like, it’s how you want it to look, not a pre-set thing. Although if there were a ‘default’ look, yours is pretty close to it, I think,” the Kwami answered after a moment or two of thought.

“What about perception? Like, if I were to really think hard and change the appearance enough that it looked like a different hero, would people still perceive me as Ladybug? Because I know there’s **something** magical about the transformation, otherwise people would have figured out it was me almost immediately,” Marinette said, scribbling a few notes at the corner of the page.

“I don’t think so. It’s an obscuring effect rather than a changing effect. So people see you and get magically told ‘this is not Marinette’ instead of ‘this is Ladybug’,” Tikki answered.

“I see…” the girl mumbled, flipping the book back a few pages. “One last question, and thank you for answering everything so far. Would it be possible to force certain changes? Like, if I wanted Ladybug to have a full face mask instead of the eye mask, would that be possible?”

“I think so. It would depend on the particular Miraculous. Kaalki, for example, refuses to use a mask, but she transforms hair a lot more than some of the others,” the Kwami answered, before letting out a little yawn.

“Thank you Tikki. I think I have a bit of an idea,” Marinette said, a little grin gracing her lips. “Get some rest, you definitely earned it today,” she said, cupping the little creature as she gently drifted downwards. She placed Tikki onto an empty pin cushion, and flipped to a fresh page in her sketch book. Her pencil hovered for a moment as she glanced up at her picture board. She had taken down a lot of the pictures of Adrien after the incident with Chat Blanc, and she now had pictures of her with the girl squad, with Kagami, with Kim, Max, Alix and Ondine, and one with the art kids which begrudgingly included Chloe and Sabrina. There was, of course, a picture of her, Alya, Adrien and Nino, and a picture she couldn’t remember taking. It was of Alya and Manon, the youngster curled up on a bench with her head resting on Alya’s thigh with Alya gazing down at the girl, gently rubbing her hair with the back of her hand. Marinette let out a soft sigh before taking a deep breath, she hadn’t realised it but the light pain in her chest told her she had been holding her breath for too long.

“OK! It’s time to get to work,” she said, opening a new tab on her computer and twirling her pencil in her fingers.

Echoing footsteps filled the corridor as Marinette walked along. Upon her wrist, glaring up at her, was a bright red snake. It was knotted around her, and seemed to stretch out into the distance. There was no pressure pulling on her, but she felt strongly that, should she refuse to follow the snake’s body, it would bite, and that would be very bad, so on she walked. As she continued to move, she got the impression that the structure she was in was a maze, and also that she was trapped, like the whole place was a colossal prison.

“What do you want most?” the snake asked as she walked on, in a drab tone that she couldn’t quite place.

“Peace,” Marinette replied simply.

“A practiced response, and certainly one befitting the chosen of the spotted one. But we both know that it is not the true response,” the snake hissed.

“I can’t have what I want most, so why bother with the truth?” Marinette replied, turning a corner. The snake’s body continued into the distance, and she sighed faintly.

“You tell the truth to all but yourself. I wonder why that is?” the red snake asked, coiling a little tighter around the girl’s wrist. Marinette winced, but continued. She needed to find… something. It was very important that she find it, but she could neither say what it was, nor why it was important.

“If you have a point, make it. The sands fall faster here than outside,” she answered, quickening her pace.

“A truth born of lies is still a truth, and to deny yourself that is a terrible fate. I wonder if you are prepared to accept my truth, hero of creation. Find the end, and find your truth and mine,” it said, before growing thinner. Its face disappeared, and its body began to change, from scales to thin, red twine. Marinette felt a firm tug from the string, not on her wrist but on her heart, and she shuddered.

“Not yet. I still need to find it. Not yet. Not yet. Not yet…” she said, repeating the two words over and over as she walked on. She came across an open door, leading to an empty room.

“This is… it? she muttered to herself. The thread tugged at her again. “Not yet, not yet,” she muttered. She took a step into the room, her heart racing with excitement.

“Did I find it?” she whispered. Again, the string began to pull on her. “Not yet!” she hissed.

“Marinette?”

“nnhh… ”

“Marinette, wake up!”

“Nnn. Not yet…” the girl mumbled, rolling to one side with a little moan.

“Marinette! You have to wake up, it’s the Miracle Egg!” Tikki squeaked, pulled at the girl’s shoulder.

“Hmm? What about it?” Marinette asked as she pushed herself upright and rubbed her eyes.

“Look!” Tikki exclaimed, twisting the girl’s head to look at the cupboard the Miraculous were hidden in, which has faint pink light shining through the gaps in the door. One semi-panicked scramble later, she pulled the door open, just as an intricate bracelet appeared in mid-air in front of the egg. She caught it as it fell, and the trinket flashed brightly, a small purple Kwami appearing from it with a roar.

“Ahhhh! You found us! And not a moment too soon, we do believe!” the Kwami said with a grin, floating in front of Marinette.

“I… found you?” The girl mumbled, very confused.

“Marinette! Time for school!” Tikki squeaked, and Marinette sat up with a jolt.

“School!? I can’t be late again!” she exclaimed, scrambling to her feet and rushing to get ready as the Kwami looked on with amusement.

The day passed without much incident. Normality of sorts returned to the school, with an absence of Lila to mess things around everything seemed to run smoothly. At the end of the day, Marinette returned home and after a few minutes of face time with her parents, made her excuses and went to her room. Ladybug was swinging through Paris minutes later, after a brief discussion with the newly re-emerged Kwami. She was still confused about her dream, but she felt it best not to question too much in case she overwhelm herself. Her destination for the night was the Seine, with the Snake and the newly recovered Tiger Miraculous on hand. It was sometimes difficult to locate the Couffaine houseboat, but if one relied more on their ears than their eyes, it was a bit easier to find. The soft but strong sound of Luka’s guitar carried well across the waterway, and it barely took Ladybug any time to locate the floating domicile. The boy barely noticed as the superheroine landed on the side of the river, finishing a few more bars before a little flourish as he turned his head to her.

“Ladybug! I hope this visit is a social one,” he said, smiling across at her.

“Business I’m afraid,” she replied, reaching into her Yo-yo. “Luka Couffaine, recently, your identity as a Miraculous holder was revealed to Miracle Queen, who was working for Hawkmoth. To protect you, and those around you, I’m going to ask you to renounce your ownership of the Snake Miraculous. This will also remove all the memories you have relating to the times you used it,” she said, holding the bracelet in her palm.

“Oh,” he said softly, his fingers slowly falling over the strings of his guitar, sending out an almost mournful tone as he stared down at it. “That’s… a bit disappointing,” he went on.

“I wish I could be here under better circumstances. From what I’ve seen of you, you love your family very much, and this is the best way to protect them from Hawkmoth and Mayura whilst keeping the Miraculous safe,” Ladybug said, fingers curling around the trinket. “You are within your right to refuse, but I need to warn you. The Miraculous have gone dormant, and cannot be used by anyone other than those who control them. It’s why Chloe couldn’t use any of them once she was de-Akumatised. I can’t let you use the Snake miraculous now that Hawkmoth knows your identity, but without it, Paris is at a greatly increased risk,” she said solemnly.

“I understand Ladybug, but…” he said, running a hand through his hair with a faint groan, “I dunno if you’ve noticed, but I’m kinda passive about things. Juleka’s been bullied a lot, and I’ve been so lax in protecting her. Being a hero, saving Paris, it made me feel a bit more like the big brother I ought to be, y’know. Losing that memory, losing the changes I’ve made… I don’t want to be that guy again,” he finished, clenching his fist.

“I… I had no idea,” Ladybug said, placing a hand on top of his. “But you’ve made the change once before. I know you can do it again. I’ll even drop in to make sure you do, and I can even give you a few subtle hints as my civilian self. I’m a big fan of your band, y’know!” she said, giving him a warm smile. The boy looked down at her, and, for a moment, she thought she felt the tugging again, but this time, it felt different, more like the kind of affection she felt towards Tikki, or Al… not quite what she felt towards Alya.

“Thanks El Bee. I’m ready,” he said, expression shifting to one more serious. She handed him the Snake Miraculous, and he took hold of it tightly.

“I renounce my ownership of this Miraculous. Say goodbye to Sass for me,” he said, smiling as the light began to envelop him. As he fell back, Ladybug caught him, lowering him to the deck gently.

“Luka? What’s going on, is she back yet?” a familiar voice called as the door to the boat swung open. “L-Ladybug?” Juleka stammered as she looked on at the scene. And then, the sky broke apart.

“Is he OK? What happened?” Juleka asked as she and Ladybug carried Luka into the cabin, setting him down on the couch.

“It’s… complicated. He’s OK, he’ll sleep for a few hours and wake up with a headache and a bit of a spotty memory, hopefully. As for the sky… your guess is as good as mine,” the heroine said, glancing out of one of the little windows. The crack seemed to be superimposed, like a bag piece of CGI in a film, and it hurt her eyes to look at it.

“Whoa… that’s cool,” Juleka whispered, peering through another window.

“Nnhh… it hurts my brain just to look at it. This is definitely an Akuma,” Ladybug said, pacing swiftly back to the door. “Stay out of sight and look after your brother. Time to go do what I do best,” Ladybug said, pushing out into the turbulent air. Juleka nodded, and walked over to Luka, checking his temperature with the back of her hand.

“Seems normal…” she muttered to herself. She began to pace around, unsure of what to do with herself, when there came a heavy impact on the prow of the boat. Tensing, the girl grabbed the closest heavy object to hand, and braced herself at the door.

“Juleka I need gwaaaagh!” Ladybug began, exclaiming as the girl thrust a drumstick at her face. The heroine flailed, deflecting the object which span in the air before landing on her head, causing her to squeak in pain.

“Ah! L-ladybug! Sorry, I… you said there was an Akuma, so I… y’know…” Juleka mumbled, fiddling with her overhang of hair. “S-sorry,” she finished.

“It’s OK. Uugh,” Ladybug mumbled as she lurched to one side. “The sky… it’s just the start. Closer to the epicentre, the buildings, the ground…” the heroine went on, forcing herself to breathe regularly.

“What’s going on?” Juleka asked, rushing to the hero’s aid. Ladybug shuddered, and forced herself back upright.

“I couldn’t tell. Trying to cross one of the lines… I could feel myself being pulled apart. Like… Like looking at your reflection in a broken mirror, only… real,” she said, holding up a small black and red hand mirror that had broken, taking in even breaths. Juleka could feel a creeping sensation along the back of her neck. She didn’t keep up regularly with the Ladyblog and the comings and goings of the heroes, but she was certain she had never seen Ladybug this… defeated, and after barely a minute too.

“Is… is there… anything I can do?” Juleka asked in a hesitant tone.

“I think you’re the only one who **can** do anything,” Ladybug replied, putting the mirror onto the table. “My Lucky Charm gave me that. It sent me back to you. I think this is why the Tiger Miraculous was re-awoken today as well,” the heroine said, fishing into her Yo-yo for the new trinket.

“W-what!? M-me, I’m not, I’m nothing special. I’m weak, I’m a coward!” Juleka said, holding her hands up with a shake.

“On the contrary, you’re incredibly brave. You were prepared to take on an unknown Akuma with nothing but a drumstick to protect your brother. It’s that spark that I need! You were prepared to fight even though you might’ve been going up against something way more powerful than you!” Ladybug said, taking another breath. “Plus, you were able to look at that… thing without your head pounding. I couldn’t even get close without feeling sick. Will you help me?” she asked, presenting the elaborate pangas bracelet to her.

“I…” she began, glancing back at the slumbering Luka. “I’ll help,” she said firmly.

“Juleka Couffaine, I present you with the power of the Tiger Miraculous. You will use the Miraculous to help save Paris, and then return it to me,” Ladybug said, as Juleka took the trinket, removing her own bracelet and replacing it with the Miraculous, which shifted form to mimic her mirror. A ball of light emerged from the trinket, and Roarr appeared from it with a happy growl.

“Ahh, my ladies! We are honoured to meet with you,” she purred, bowing graciously at Juleka.


	9. Forbidden

_Roughly fifteen minutes earlier._

“Chloe Bourgeois, here to see Adrien, of course,” Chloe spoke into the intercom outside the Agreste mansion.

“You are ten minutes late,” Nathalie’s stern voice crackled out of the speaker.

“Fashionably so, one might say!” Chloe replied in kind, pushing herself up on tiptoes to be closer to the microphone. The door to the mansion swung open and the hulking mass of man that was the Agreste’s bodyguard emerged, storming across the courtyard to the gate.

“This will not take long. Come in Ms Bourgeois,” Nathalie said, and the feed cut out with a shrill hiss of static. Chloe glanced up at the colossal man, striding past him with purpose. A pang of something ran through her mind, and she quickly turned on her toes to face him again.

“Thank you,” she said, a little quiet and a little rushed, but it was a gesture appreciated by both the man unaffectionately known as Gorilla, and by Chloe’s chauffer. She approached the door and pushed it aside carefully, taking slow and deliberate steps into the house’s large entrance hall.

“Is Adrien in his room? We have been planning this for a while, and I do so detest the idea of keeping him waiting,” the girl said as Nathalie approached from one of the side rooms that Chloe believed to be an office.

“There has been a change of plan Chloe,” Nathalie said, stopping just a few inches too far into the girl’s comfort zone, forcing her to take a half step away from her. Chloe’s brow furrowed as she locked eyes with the assistant.

“Oh no! I hope that he’s alright. Could I see him just quickly, to offer my support?” Chloe asked, watching for any sign that this reaction had not been anticipated.

“Actually, I believe it would be best for you to leave. Mr Agreste doesn’t want you ‘hanging around’ Adrien anymore,” Natalie replied, and Chloe could _hear_ the quotation marks around the words.

“Ex-cuse me? Gabriel Agreste doesn’t want me hanging around my best friend? What right does he have to forbid us from spending time together?” Chloe snapped, drawing herself up for a full rant, when a door on the upper level was slammed open.

“Madam Bourgeois,” Gabriel’s booming voice called out, as the tall blonde stepped toward the hand rail, “You are no longer permitted to spend time with Adrien. I have been informed by reliable sources that you chose to ally yourself with Hawkmoth, not to mention your track record of becoming Akumatised. You are a bad influence upon him, and dangerous to Adrien’s health, and I cannot allow him to spend any more time with you than necessary. If you are seen spending any time with him **at all** outside of mandated curricular activities I _will_ remove him from the school without hesitation. Do I make myself clear?”

“Now just a-” Chloe stammered out, her head a typhoon of emotions. Anger, fear, sadness and disgust all swirled together into a potent mix of chaotic feelings.

“**Do I make myself clear?**” he all but bellowed at the girl, stamping his foot firmly. Chloe all but scrambled away from the imposing man, bursting into tears as she fled, running past the mountainous bodyguard and her waiting car, and into the streets of Paris.

“Don’t you think that was a bit harsh?” Nathalie said, expression showing clear unease.

“Everything I do is in pursuit of our overall goal. Fetch the Peacock Miraculous and meet me in The Chamber. I have an Akuma to create, and you, a Sentimonster,” Gabriel replied coldly, pacing back into the room he had emerged from, leaving Nathalie alone.

_The present_.

“C’mon Buggy, can’t you take a little reality twisting? Thought this kinda thing was your bread and butter!” a cocky, brash, overly loud voice called back to Ladybug as she was struggling to move through the shattered and twisted streets, her eyes locked to the ground.

“S-she’s trying her best Ris! It’s hard for her, please don’t be so rude,” the figure who was helping the hero said, brushing back the hair over her left eye back a little.

“I’m getting the hang of it, but everything keeps lurching…” Ladybug mumbled, taking a deep breath before tilting her head upward. Juleka, or, her superheroine form, was standing next to her, offering a gloved hand of support. Her outfit was better than Ladybugs, but only marginally. Mostly purple, with black stripes around the left half of her upper body, and on her right leg, as well as patches of armour here and there, and a mask slightly thinner than her own. A half striped tail hung from her waist, and a rounded ear poked pout of the top of her hair. However, Juleka’s superheroine form was _also_ stood at the tip of a flagpole that jutted out of a building, gazing down at the two of them. This Juleka scoffed, and brushed the hair from her right eye, rolling her eyes as she did so.

“Tiggy, she’s dead weight until she gets used to it. Leave her here and let’s go find the Akuma and bring it back!” this Juleka replied.

“I’m not going to abandon my friend!” the one identified as Tiggy answered, offering her arm to Ladybug as she stumbled.

“She’s right Tig. You and Ris should do some scouting to find out what we’re dealing with,” Ladybug replied, shuffling forward to a bench, dropping down onto it with a groan. Ris, the brash Heroine, sighed, and dropped down to the two of them. They were identical save for being the complete reverse of one another, with Ris having stripes on her right upper body, left leg, and the rest of her tail. She also had the corresponding points of armour and ear. They were also the exact same height, but it was difficult to tell, Tig stood with something of a stoop, and her body language and demeanour reminded Ladybug of a young superhero girl with invisibilty from a film Alya had gotten her to watch. On the other hand, Ris stood with back straight, exuding confidence and aggression.

“B-but… she might not be safe…” Tig mumbled, grabbing hold of her tail and wringing it through her hands. Ris made a soft noise of disgust, slapping the girl’s hands so that she would drop the tail.

“You heard what she said, we need to scout!” she snapped, glaring across at her twin. Ladybug was about to speak up when her Yo-yo rang. She let it click apart, and held it to her head.

“Chat?”

“Hello my lady! I have good news and bad news!” came a chipper reply.

“Oh?”

“Good news, I know who has been akumatised, and where the Akuma is! Bad news, I’ve been hit by the akuma as a civilian and can’t transform, my Kwami is trapped in another… dimension? Whatever the cracks are, he can’t cross them back to me,” the boy said.

“Oh no! Tell me everything you… wait, how are you calling me?” Ladybug asked.

“I took the liberty of putting this number into a burner phone just for occasions like this, but you know I hate to obsess about myself. The victim is Chloe Bourgeois, and the Akuma is in her bag. That’s all I can tell you, anything more and you’d be getting dangerously close to figuring me out,” he answered.

“OK, thanks Chat. Look after yourself. Call me if you find anything else, and, once everything is cleared up, call me again. I need to talk to you about an idea,” Ladybug said, clapping the clamshell device closed with a sigh. “You heard what he said right? No Chat means we’re in trouble. Could you both please go and scout, and come back to me in a few minutes so we can form a plan,” she continued. Both purple heroines nodded in confirmation, and headed off in separate directions.

Alya lay back on her bed, listening to the news coverage of the latest attach in the background, but she was barely paying attention. She had the mother of all headaches, the source of which was currently rummaging through her desk draws, and let out a cackle of glee.

“Ohoho! These are super flimsy, I bet you get cold wearing them!” the fox kwami said with a smirk on their face. Alya glanced up at the devilish Kwami, and let out a groan, face flushing brightly as she lunged for the fox.

“Get out of there! Will you calm down! I don’t know how Ladybug manages to deal with her weird little creature thing if it’s anything as hyper as you are!” she snapped, grabbing at the offending item of underwear. Trixx darted away, with the clothing snagged on one of their ears.

“Aaahhhh! It’s just because I’m hungry dang it!” the Kwami exclaimed, flitting about from place to place faster than Alya could move. “Normally I’m calm, I have grace and elan, but my tummy is all grumbly and I have to move!” they went on.

“Will! You! Give! Those! Back! Aha!” Alya cried, leaping for the floating creature. She snagged the undies and pulled them back to her, glaring up at Trixx with a huff.

“These are very mature,” they said in a deadpan tone.

“I went through a phase, about six months before we moved here, of believing that I was very mature, very grown up, and in control of everything in my life. I talked my mother into letting me buy them,” Alya said, her tone shifting to one of disappointment. “And the first time I tried them on in front of a mirror… well, let’s just say that I know how playdough pushed through a sieve feels…” she finished, dropping onto the chair by her desk.

“Ouch…”

“Yeah. So if you’d please at least tell me what I can feed you so that my life can return to being… well, equally as pathetic but less noisy, I’d appreciate it,” Alya went on, stuffing the offending article deep into her desk drawn, behind a wall of single socks and a t-shirt with a hole in it that she just couldn’t part with for sentimental reasons.

“Berries. Well, I can eat anything, but berries calm me, berries stop the twitching,” the Kwami said, as it zipped towards her, flitting around and around her head.

“I don’t have any… I have this, it’s edible, sort of,” she said, pushing aside a few notebooks to reveal a thin lip gloss applicator. She handed it to the Kwami, who sniffed it, and then licked it once. It then began licking at it enthusiastically, smearing the pinkish creamy texture all over its tongue. “I guess that works… Do you think we should head out there? Ladybug might need me.”

“I’m sure she’ll let you know if she does, like she did with… you know, the thing before,” The fox said, their demeanour becoming more docile and refined.

“It was lucky she ran into Marinette is all. C’mon Ladybug, tag me in!” she said, muttering to herself as she continued to glance at her phone and the TV.

“You ain’t gunna like this…” Ris said with a sigh as she dropped down to where Ladybug had hidden herself. The hero looked a little disgruntled, a little ruffled, but not injured.

“What did you find?” Ladybug asked, glancing up at her.

“Well… it’s definitely Chloe. And the bag’s in easy reach. The bad news is… I don’t think you’ll be able to get to her. I’m pretty sure the only person who can cross those lines is the Akuma,” she said, glancing back as Tig approached from the street opposite.

“I-it’s really bad! T-there’re black lines all over the place!” she exclaimed, jogging over to the pair.

“I don’t even know what the Akuma’s after. It’s just Chloe, hanging in the centre of, like, a cluster of those weird black crack lines. Well, Chloe in a weird costume,” Ris said with a roll of her eyes.

“I can’t see another way around this. OK, time to try a little magic,” Ladybug said, pulling herself upright. The strange sucking pain that came at the back of her eyes when she looked at the lines was lessening, but it still hurt to try and focus on them. “Lucky Charm!” she exclaimed, filling the area with pink light as her Yo-yo rose above her head. The light condensed into a small ball, which dropped into her hands. It was small, roughly the size of an apple, and made of hundreds of tiny square mirrors, and had a loop of thread at its top.

“A… Christmas Tree bauble? OK, your power officially sucks,” Ris commented with a huff. Tig patted her fist against the dismissive heroine, giving her a look of disappointment.

“I-I’m sure you’ll come up with something, Ladybug,” she said, as the spotted girl looked down at the bauble.

“I think I might already have an idea,” Ladybug said, twisting the bauble back and forth, watching her own reflection twist in hundreds of different ways. “Come on, let’s go try something,” she said, grabbing hold of both heroines. She ran through the streets, approaching the nearest of the black cracks. “OK, here we go. So, none of us can go through like this, right?” she said, holding her hand up to the crack. Reality began to twist, and her hand began to feel hot and cold, painful and numb, dry and sweaty, pulled and pushed, all at the same time. She quickly pulled back, wincing at the sheer mix of sensations.

“Yeah, it’s no fun,” the gruff heroine commented.

“It feels like I’m being pulled apart when I try and go through them,” Tig added.

“Exactly! I think this is why the tiger miraculous re-awoke today. Please re-merge and de-transform, Roarr is going to need to be super powered up for this,” Ladybug said. The two heroes nodded, and took hold of one another’s hands.

“Roarr, Return Balance to us!” they said in unison, and they began to shine with a pinkish purple light, which pulled them into one another. The light faded, and a singular heroine was left in their place. Her hair was pulled back but there was a hint of overhang on both sides, and the stripes that had been on alternate sides of the heroines rested on both sides of this new one.

“Tigris, do you remember what I asked your splits to do?” Ladybug asked. The heroine nodded.

“I remember both of their experiences perfectly. It’s… confusing, but I think I can handle it. Roarr, Hunt’s Return!” she said, and again she shone with purple light. Afterwards, Juleka was left with an eager looking Roarr floating around above her.

“You did exquisitely, my ladies,” he said, bowing graciously.

“It’s not over yet Roarr. Here, it’s not the best but I suspect you’d prefer it over cookies,” Ladybug said, producing a strip of dried meat from her Yo-yo. The tiger took it eagerly, chewing at it with a happy expression on his face.

“So, uh, what’s your big plan?” Juleka asked.


	10. Lament

Gentle sobs echoed around the Agreste mansion, or at least, what remained of the mansion. The epicentre of the twisted black mass that was Chloe’s Akuma was above the complex, and the building was a mess of realities all twisting and merging into one another.

“Chloe!” Adrien cried out, leaning as far as he could out of his window to call to the akuma above him. “Please, stop this!”

“I can’t!” Chloe exclaimed back, cheeks streaked with black tears, tears which were dripping from her face onto the black mass that surrounded her lower half. “I… He’s… too… strong! I’m sorry!” the girl replied, as the mass around her shifted, covering a little more of her. She let out a scream of agony.

“Chloe!!” Adrien cried out, scrambling to climb out of the window, only to hit one of the black lines. His head filled with sensations and he fell backwards, dropping to the floor of his ridiculously oversized room.

“Well, that’s different,” Plagg commented with a roll of his eyes as he glared across one of the black lines. He was separated from the one he loved most by something as thin as a piece of paper, but as difficult to cross as the vastness of space and time itself. He let out a pained sigh, and flopped onto a cushion.

“I’m sure Ladybug will fix this all soon and you can get back to your cheese,” Adrien commented with a pained sigh. Plagg crossed his tiny arms with a huff.

“I care about more than cheese you know! I’m worried, OK! Tikki’s out there without me. What if something happens and she needs my help?” he snapped. Adrien smiled warmly, crawling across the room to get as close to his Kwami as he could.

“I know how you feel. Ladybug is out there too, fighting for all of Paris while we’re stuck here doing nothing. If only my father had been more understanding, none of this would have happened!” he said with a snap, slamming his fist against the floor.

“Your father’s almost as big a bummer as Hawkmoth…” Plagg added with a chuckle.

“Hey! Father is… cold, and a little distant, but he’s no Hawkmoth! He’s not the kind of person who would be needlessly cruel!” Adrien said, crossing his arms over his chest to mimic the little black cat Kwami.

“Yeah, well, any man who excludes Camembert from a kid’s diet is a cruel man in my mind,” the Kwami replied, letting out another sigh. “Oh my sweet stinky cheese, how I miss your delicate taste upon my tongue,” he said, gazing across at the cheese platter.

“If only I could get to him, maybe I could convince him to let Chloe hang out with me again. That might turn her back from an Akuma…” Adrien muttered to himself, glancing back up at the window. “Plagg… I have an idea,” he said with a smirk.

“Do you think this is going to work?” Tigris asked, as she and Ladybug approached the black lines that blocked their path towards the floating Akuma.

“It’s got to work. I don’t care how much it hurts me, we **have** to stop this, it’s paralysing the whole city,” Ladybug replied, tossing the disco bauble up and down idly.

“Well, I’m not overly keen on getting hurt myself, but… I’ll do what I can. OK, here goes,” she said, walking up to the blackness. She began to wince as she strode forwards, and as she did, her body began to shine. “Nhhh… Roarr, Unbalance us!” she exclaimed, and she split in two, one on one side of the crack, one on the other.

“Yes! That bit works just fine! Now to test the other part of the theory,” Ladybug said, taking hold of Tig’s hand.

“Alright, this is absolutely going to suck, you ready for this, Tiggy?” Ris asked, cracking her knuckles as she took a step back.

“I… I’m scared… but… i-it’s… we’ve got to… do this,” the other half of the tiger heroine said, taking a shuddered breath as she clung on to Ladybug.

“Do it,” Ladybug said, clenching her eyes tightly shut.

“Roarr, Return Balance to us!” Ris said, as Ladybug braced herself. She felt an intense rush of magic and movement, one that was abruptly halted by her hitting what felt like a wall of rubber. She bounced back, and fell backwards, landing on her rear with a twinge of pain.

“Oh no! Ladybug, are you OK?” Tigris asked, rushing to the edge of the blackness.

“Nnhh… It was a bit much to hope that would work… don’t worry, I have a back-up plan,” she said, standing up and brushing herself down. “You might want to step back again, I don’t know if this will do… strange things,” Ladybug said, looking at her fractured reflection in the mirror ball again. With a breath, she stepped forward into the blackness. The sensations she felt over the next few seconds were beyond indescribably, a sensation so un-familiar to her that she was utterly bereft of an adequate way to describe them. When she opened her eyes, her heart racing as though she had run a hundred metres in barely five seconds, her hands shaking and her brow sweaty, she looked up to see Tigris stood next to her, and a black crack in space behind her.

“Whoa holy heck it worked!” Tigris exclaimed with a wide grin on her face. Ladybug nodded weakly, turning the ball over in her hand. There was a square missing from one of the sides, a remnant that had come loose and now sat on the far side of the crack.

“I thought as much. I had to leave a part of myself behind. We need to be careful, every one we go through, I get weaker,” Ladybug said, pushing herself upright with a shudder.

“I got you Ell Bee. Let’s go take down an Akuma!” Tigris said, scooping the girl up with barely any effort.

Through fits and starts, and with a small break to let Tikki recharge her magic, the pair and occasional trio of heroines made their way through the streets to the Agreste mansion.

“Chloe!” Ladybug called up, Tigris supporting her weight as she moved towards the towering Akuma.

“I think you’ll find her quite unresponsive. She is resisting well, but her mind will soon be mine!” Hawkmoth’s voice carried from a rooftop nearby. Ladybug’s eyes widened as he lunged towards them, smacking his cane down onto the street, cracking the cobbles. Tigris reacted in time, sending Ladybug to one side while she dove to the other, skidding to a halt with hands and feet on the ground.

“Ladybug, go help Chloe, I’ve got this!” she exclaimed, glaring up at the luchador mask wearing adult.

“Hmph! What use do I have in such a pointless power? Splitting yourself, dividing your power, it’s useless!” he snapped, lunging towards Tigris again. The girl pounced forwards, locking her arms together to stop the blow from the male.

“Shows what you know! Roarr, Unbalance us!” she exclaimed. The light was almost blinding, causing the villain to flinch away, which was the only thing that saved him from the rising Ris, who slashed at his face with her claws.

“Rrrgh! Impudent wretched girl!” he snapped, swatting at her with the cane, as Tig leapt at him, grabbing at his other arm.

“Tig! Ris! I… I can help!” Ladybug stammered, wobbling forwards.

“Go stop the Akuma! We can handle this!” Ris snapped, leaping and lunging at Hawkmoth again. Ladybug glanced over to Tig, who nodded back at her before rolling away from another attack.

“Ok… OK! I’ll stop all this as soon as I can!” she cried out, stumbling over herself to head towards the mansion.

“L-ladybug!” Chloe’s voice carried out over the broken Parisian skyline, as the heroine clambered over bits of twisted stone.

“Chloe, I… what even happened? If you’re trying to work with Hawkmoth again, I swear…” she began, before noticing the dark streaks on Chloe’s cheeks.

“Hawkmoth… he calls me Disfractor. I… can’t…” Chloe managed, shuddering as more blackness poured from her eyes, adding to the cocoon of blackness that now surrounded her up to her armpits. “Please… help me…” she whimpered. Ladybug had never heard Chloe sound so desperate, and she paused to gather her breath and her senses.

“Tell me what happened,” she asked after a few moments.

“Y-you’re going to… think I’m a bad person…” Chloe, Disfractor, mumbled, letting out a whimper of pain.

“I already do. It’s up to you to start proving otherwise,” Ladybug replied, her words heavy with sarcasm.

“G-Gabriel… Agreste… he forbade me… from speaking with… Adrien. He… he’s my oldest friend! My… my… my only friend…” Disfractor went on, letting out another pained sob, more blackness adding to the mass that surrounded her. “If I lose him, I… I lose everyone… Ladybug, I’m so sorry, I… I…” she continued, before breaking down into deeper sobs.

“Chloe…” Ladybug mumbled, taking a deep breath. “Keep fighting him! I’m going to get you out of this!” she said, tensing her fist tightly.

“Father! Nathalie? Mr Lesinge?” Adrien cried out as he picked his way through the grounds of the mansion. His window escape had been successful on the second attempt, after having to pull himself through one of the lines, but he was now even more cautious about touching the blackness. He managed to make his way back inside through a side door that was miraculously untouched, and picked his way into the central entrance hall. There was a loud grunt from beyond the stairs, and a door swung open to reveal the colossal bodyguard had hidden in a coat closet, and was trapped in by a series of interlocking black webs.

“Mr Lesinge! Do you know where my father is?” he called out. The man shrugged, and glanced up at the upper office door.

“I’m going to try and get to him. I need to know that he’s safe, and… I need to talk to him,” he said. As he carefully made his way around the blackness, his heart raced. If he were Chat, he would have flipped and rolled his way through with ease, but for some reason, his muscles, his reflexes, everything was failing him. With Plagg caught in another ‘area’ of the blackness, it felt like an important part of him was gone. His mind drifting, he accidentally caught one of the black lines with his shoulder, and let out a scream of agony.

“Aaaahhh!!” he exclaimed, collapsing to his knees. Lesinge let out a roar of concern, and began to press himself against the blackness that held him in place. Roar after roar left the man as he thrashed and pounded at the dark matter, until, through sheer brute strength and stamina, he had pulled himself free. He stumbled towards Adrien, dropping to his knees in front of the boy, offering a hand to help him up.

“You… you broke through… to help me?” Adrien asked softly. The male looked over at him, nodding his head slowly with a pained smile on his face. “Thank you. Truly,” Adrien said, taking his hand and pulling himself upright. Lesinge let out a groan, and slumped forwards, unconscious.

“I won’t let this opportunity go to waste. Thank you,” he whispered, and scrambled towards the stairs, pulling himself up step by step to avoid the web of blackness that loomed above, below and through the stairs.

“Why do you want the Miraculous so bad? What could you possibly gain that makes… all this… necessary?” Tig asked Hawkmoth, keeping her distance as the maniacal man twirled his cane in his hand.

“What do you care? Ladybug and Chat Noir will never give up their Miraculous willingly, what motivation I have is immaterial!” he snapped, swishing the weapon through the air, ducking to one side as Ris dove across the distance to take him by surprise. “Hmph. You will learn that you are leagues below me. Children playing at superheroes while I strive for true power,” he went on, taking cautious steps around the area as the twin heroines kept their low stances.

“Hey, can I ask you a question?” Ris asked, fixing him with a serious glare.

“What?” the man snarled.

“How come you’re such a butt?” Ris asked, lunging forwards again. Hawkmoth sighed as he turned the girl’s attack away with ease, turning to face her as she stumbled away from him.

“Childish. Puerile, and easy to predict. If you are a new hero, Ladybug chose poorly. But, I suppose, if she continues to consider children as adequate holders of the Miraculous, I should not expect much from the holders. Ah well, at least you are easy targets,” he said, chuckling to himself.

“Oh yeah?” Ris asked, flexing her claws. “Well you know why I think Ladybug keeps choosing kids for Miraculous holders?” she said, scratching at the stones beneath her.

“Do enlighten me,” he replied, smirking at her.

“We’re short,” she answered, charging towards him on all fours. His eyes widened as she shot between his legs, and a bright purple light began to shine. Unbeknownst to Hawkmoth, Tig had just done the same thing, and the two had merged directly beneath him. Tigris rose with a triumphant roar, claws extended upwards as she rose, her tremendous strength directed into the powerful punch. Hawkmoth let out a groan, and, without much ceremony, burst into grey smoke. A feather began to float away, one which Tigris deftly caught between two of her claws.

“Sentimonster. Figures,” she muttered to herself, before a pitched scream echoed around the city. She twisted her head to see Ladybug near to Chloe, entangled in the blackness.

“Hmph…” Mayura muttered as she watched the beast she had created break apart. Shaking her head, she snuck back into the mansion, heading for the lift shaft that rested hidden in the main office. She stepped into the room and pushed the door closed, letting out a hefty sigh.

“Duusu, Feathers Fall,” she said, feeling the incredible power of the Peacock miraculous fade from her body. She wasn’t expecting to hear a gasp from the far side of the room. Nathalie turned on her heels to see the bottom half of a leg disappearing out of the window.

“Oh…” was all she could mutter as she paced towards the window, but whoever it was who had seen her de-transform was already gone, lost in the maze of black webs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Team 'Give Gorilla A Name!' holla at me!


	11. Confession

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” Disfractor exclaimed, struggling in her own bonds as the blackness had begun to take her head, already encompassing her hair, her forehead, eyes, nose and mouth the only things left visible.

“Aaaaghhh!” Ladybug screamed, feeling her very essence pulled every which way by the black lines that had already begun to envelop her. The heroine had attempted to climb up to where Chloe, Disfractor, was being held in place, but at a critical moment of her swing, a new line had appeared, severing the string of the Yo-yo, something she had thought impossible without the power of another Miraculous. She had managed to retrieve the end of the toy, but most of its string was lost to another of the strange little sub dimensions created by the blackness. She struggled up, pulling herself level with Disfractor’s face despite the pain and the otherworldly sensations.

“I… can’t… fight him. I’m… weak…” Disfractor said, clenching her eyes shut to protect them against the fierce purple glow of the butterfly mask that hung in the air inches above them.

“Give in Disfractor. Allow your true nature to take hold. You divide and destroy, you were never meant to be a hero. Let the villain in you truly be unleashed!” Hawkmoth’s sinister voice echoed from the glowing shape.

“I… am… a… villain…” Disfractor mumbled.

“No! Don’t listen to him!” Ladybug screamed, letting out a wail of pain as she pushed through another of the dark fractures in the air. She pulled herself to within inches of Chloe’s face, cupping the girl’s cheeks. “You aren’t a villain! A selfish brat and a pain sometimes, yes, but not a villain! You have good in you, Chloe Bourgeois!”

“But… you said it yourself. I’m no hero,” Disfractor said, as the darkness surrounding her began to creep closer.

“Yes! Even your precious Ladybug thinks badly of you! Give in to the darkness in your heart!” Hawkmoth said, cackling through the sigil that cast its eerie light on both girls.

“He’s… right,” Disfractor said quietly.

“Hawkmoth. Shut. Up!” Ladybug snapped, rearing her head back and headbutting the Akuma with all her might. She and Disfractor both let out hisses of pain, Ladybug wincing and rubbing her forehead. “Owwww ow ow. No-one ever wins with a headbutt…” she muttered to herself.

“”Wh-what was that for?” Disfractor asked, confusing taking over all her other sensations in that moment.

“To get us a moment to talk, without Him. Yes. I did say those things to you, Chloe. I shouldn’t have. I was angry, and tired, and scared for my friends, and I was looking for someone to blame, and I picked you. I’m sorry, Chloe,” Ladybug said, smiling warmly at the blonde.

“L-Ladybug…” Disfractor said, her voice a hoarse whisper.

“But you don’t need me to tell you that. You’re Chloe Fricking Bourgeois, you don’t listen to just any old opinion. You listen to the most important person’s,” she said, retrieving the mirrored ball, which was down to its last few squares. She held it up so that Disfractor could see her face, but not the blackness that surrounded her. “You. You need to tell yourself that you can be a hero, that you’re not a villain, that you are stronger than that douchebag with his butterfly collection.”

“I… can’t…”

“Yes, you can.”

“But…”

“No buts. Tell yourself!”

“I’m…”

“You can do this Chloe.”

“I’m… I am Chloe Bourgeois. I am not a villain. I can be a hero.”

“Louder!”

“I AM CHLOE FRICKING BOURGEOIS AND I AM NOT A VILLAIN! AAAGGGHHHH!!!!” Chloe screamed, the blackness around her beginning to shake and rumble. Ladybug’s eyes widened as the cocoon of shadows began to recede from the girl, revealing her shoulders, then her torso, finally giving way enough to reveal the bag that she was clutching tightly. Ladybug wasted no time, grabbing at the bag and tearing it apart, revealing the black and purple ethereal butterfly that had inhabited it. Immediately, the blackness around them began to fade away, and Ladybug quickly spun her Yo-yo, catching the Akuma butterfly with ease.

“Ladybug!” Tigris exclaimed as she approached the heroine and the still shaking Chloe Borgeois. Her wristlet was beeping furiously, as were Ladybugs earrings.

“You need to go. It’s OK, go. I’ll… I’ll tell them it was another one of my tantrums or something…” Chloe said.

“You don’t need to lie about this Chloe,” Ladybug replied with a wince at the blonde’s expression.

“Yes, I do. In order to protect Adrien, I need him to think that none of this was his fault…” she said.

“OK, but… don’t keep this bottled up. I’m sure there’s someone you can reach out to, someone who’ll be sympathetic,” Ladybug said.

“You really don’t know me at all, do you?”

“You’d be surprised. Just have a think, and go to the person who will listen despite everything that’s happened,” she said, the beeping growing even more intense in her ears. She grabbed Tigris around the waist, and the two swung off with barely a moment to spare.

“Disappointing. She still clings to her foolish thoughts of heroism and valour. No matter. She will fall soon enough, just like the Rossi girl. Nathalie, arrange for a visit to Lila in the hospital tomorrow, I wish to see the extent of her memory losses,” Gabriel said, as he reappeared from the hidden elevator shaft in his office. “Nathalie!”

“Hmm? Oh, forgive me Gabriel, I was… distracted,” she said, her eyes twitching away from the open window.

“Is something wrong? Your mission was a success, you gave us valuable insight into the powers of the Tiger Miraculous,” he said, approaching the woman with what passed for an affectionate look on his face.

“I… just a little fatigued, I believe. The repairs you performed on the Peacock Miraculous are taking longer to take full effect than we anticipated,” she replied, turning to face him with a weak smile.

“I understand. Thank you for taking on the burden of the damaged Miraculous, Nathalie. I… We… could not do this without you,” Gabriel said, fingers briefly touching the ring that had until recently been his wife’s.

“I only hope that Adrien understands. You tried to explain before the de Vanily’s turned up, were you able to speak with him?” she asked, adjusting her glasses and turning her attention back to her tablet.

“The circumstances have not been right since then. I am loathe to inform him before he has to leave, but his schedule is tight. Could you find me the time to talk with him with adequate time for the fallout of the revelation?” he said, his attention now locked on the designs he had been working on before Chloe arrived.

“I will do so. Would you like me to be in attendance as well?”

“No, I believe this is something I have to handle alone.”

“Very well. Expect the time to talk with your son within the next few days.”

“Thank you.”

“No way girl! You got trapped in your bathroom!?” Alya’s voice came from Marinette’s tinny computer speakers, the reporter giggling as an afterthought.

“It’s not funny Alya! I finally had time to catch up on all my homework and I couldn’t even work on it! I didn’t have my phone, my note book, nothing!” Marinette replied, shaking her head at her friend’s amused expression on her webcam. Ladybug had fled the scene with Tigris, barely able to get somewhere secluded before their transformations ran out. She thanked Juleka for her help and asked if she was willing to take on the job again should the need arise. With the tall girl’s Miraculous in hand and consent given to return should she be needed, she returned home, and, after a short conversation with Chat about her plan, had de-transformed. She had barely gotten time to let out a pained groan when her video chat call had begun to ring.

“Oh come on, it is a little funny! You really have the worst luck in the world, are you sure you haven’t ticked off Chat Noir or something and he’s cursed you with seven years of bad luck?” Alya asked, and Marinette let out a chuckle.

“No, my bad luck predates Chat Noir. I’ve got bad luck so ancient it was making the dinosaurs trip over their own feet,” she answered, poking her tongue out at the girl, who let out a sigh, resting her elbow on the desk, letting her head rest cupped in her palm.

“Oh Marinette, you really are something,” Alya said with a warm smile.

“I…” Marinette stammered, feeling a familiar tug in her chest. She must have made an odd expression, because Alya almost immediately switched to a look of concern. “Is something the matter?”

“It’s-” she began, when there came a bellow from the bakery.

“Marineeette! Someone to see youuu!” Tom’s voice carried well up the old building, enough that it made the girl practically leap out of her chair.

“Ahh! I’ve go to got! I mean there’s me for here someone! I mean! Speak later gotta go bye!” she exclaimed, slamming a finger onto her keyboard to close the call before leaping from her chair. She thudded down the stairs into their living area, and barely noticed the figure stood awkwardly in front of their TV, clutching at a bag.

“Marinette,” Chloe spoke, just as the twin-tailed girl was about to head down into the bakery proper. She let out a squeak, almost collapsing to the floor as she flinched away from the speaker.

“C-C-Chloe!?” Marinette stammered, jaw slack as she stared across at the blonde.

“Can we… talk?” Chloe asked, not quite making eye contact with her classmate.

“I…” Marinette began. On the one hand, she still disliked Chloe, and could feel the hairs on the back of her neck raising as her fight or flight instincts threatened to kick in, the urge to either start badmouthing the girl or demanding she leave bubbling up in her. But on the other hand, Ladybug had told Chloe to go to someone who would be sympathetic despite their history, and it spoke volumes that Chloe had more or less come straight to her. “Sure. Would you like to come to my room, it’s a little more private?” she asked, glancing over at her mother who was being less than subtle about peeking out at them from her parents’ bedroom.

“I suppose that would be best,” Chloe replied, hints of the arrogance she usually displayed coming through, but more telling was that the girl seemed to be disappointed in herself that they were there at all.

“So many photos…” Chloe muttered as she glanced up at Marinette’s picture wall. She reached up and her fingers gingerly touched the single picture that included herself, a group shot of the kids in the art class. Her lips curled upwards ever so slightly, and she turned back to Marinette, who was looking at her expectantly. “I suppose you want to know why I’ve come here,” she said idly.

“It would be a good place to start, yes. Although, I could just take a few guesses and see if I get close. Let me think, you’ve lost Sabrina in one of the hotel corridors and need people to help you search for her?” Marinette said, sarcasm thick in her tone.

“No. She has a bell she can ring if she gets lost,” Chloe replied, and Marinette had absolutely no idea if the girl was being serious or sarcastic. Chloe sighed, rolling her eyes as she sat down on Marinette’s fainting couch. “I… want to apologise,” she said, after a few moments.

“Whatever for?” Marinette replied, still leaning heavily on her sarcasm.

“This was a mistake, goodbye Marinette Dupain-Cheng!” Chloe snapped, moving to push past the girl.

“No! No no no, wait, wait, sorry, I, old habits and all, I’m sorry. Please, continue,” she said, hurriedly stepping back to block Chloe’s exit with her arms, inadvertently hugging the girl in the ensuing kerfuffle.

“Hmph!” Chloe huffed, but her shoulders sagged a little upon seeing Marinette’s pleading pouty face. “Fine. I wish to apologise for… for how I have… and how I… Uugh, why is this so difficult?” she snapped. Marinette had to bite her tongue to prevent herself from saying another sarcastic quip at the girl.

“Just take a deep breath, and focus on what you want to say,” she said, forcing herself to speak in a more kindly tone.

“I… am sorry. I was… I am… a horrible person. I treated you like dirt, and I’ve been so mean to you. I’ve…” Chloe went on, until her words caught in her throat. Tear drops began to form in the corners of her eyes, and Marinette took a cautious step towards her.

“It’s alright,” she whispered, taking hold of Chloe’s shoulder gently. The girl tensed up, but didn’t move away from the touch.

“I’m sorry,” Chloe whispered, shoulders quaking as she drew in a laboured breath, fighting back her tears. “I’m so, so sorry. I didn’t mean for all this to happen.”

“I don’t think any of us meant for an evil super villain to start twisting our emotions into big scary monsters,” Marinette replied, and Chloe’s head snapped up to glare at her. And then, the blonde let out a blurt of a giggle. This prompted Marinette to begin giggling, which only spurred Chloe on even more. Within moments, the girls were in hysterics.

“Hahahaha! Ahhhhh, fuck Hawkmoth,” Chloe said, once she had re-gathered her composure.

“He’s the worst.”

“He’s totally the worst,” Chloe said, flopping back onto the couch. “I do mean it though. Before he turned up, _I_ was the worst. And I’m sorry for everything I’ve said and done to you. But, it’s a little late for that now…”

“What do you mean?” Marinette asked, sitting at her desk and rolling her chair across to be closer to the girl.

“Adrien can’t speak to me anymore. Gabriel forbade me from spending time with him. Said I was a bad influence and that I was dangerous,” Chloe said, hands tightening around the strap of her bag. “I just wanted to watch some crappy anime with my friend…” she mumbled, barely above a whisper.

“What!? That’s terrible! I can understand his concerns but to outright ban you two from seeing one another? That’s needlessly cruel! Uuugh, that man infuriates me sometimes!” Marinette said, stamping a foot onto the floor.

“That’s Gabriel Agreste for you. Needlessly cruel in order to protect the things he loves. He’s always been like that…”

“Well, it’s not on! Adrien doesn’t deserve to be punished for Hawkmoth’s disasters, and neither do you!” Marinette snapped, fists clenched tightly.

“Well, Gabriel’s word is law, so…” Chloe said dejectedly.

“Not if I can help it. Hang on, let me think…” Marinette said, spinning in her chair to look up at her painstakingly crafted schedule. “Hmmm. No. No. That wouldn’t… I wonder if we could do that on short notice… Oh! That might work!” she said, eyes darting across the planner. “Are you free this Saturday?”

“I was having a mani pedi that day but I can rearrange it,” she said.

“Excellent! I have an idea,” Marinette said with a grin.

Alya was in a quandary. She knew Marinette had meant to disconnect from the call. She knew that she should have disconnected it herself once she noticed. But her reporters instincts couldn’t quite be fought off, and she continued to stare at the webcam feed in amazement. Chloe and Marinette hanging out was a scandal in and of itself, but Chloe apologising, and Marinette going out of her way to help Chloe? The world was wrong somehow. Alya shut down the feed once it looked like Marinette was going to use her computer, and leaned back in her chair with a sigh.

“I don’t know what’s going on lately, Trixx, but the world seems upside down and everything is weird. And I **really** don’t like how clingy Chloe was being! She’s up to something, I can feel it!” she said, addressing the Kwami who was still lapping away at her lip gloss.

“Maybe she really is turning over a new leaf?” The fox replied with a shrug.

“Maybe. Maybe not. I’m going to keep a close eye on her from now on. **Nobody** hurts my Marinette, uh, my friend Marinette,” Alya said, blushing a little at her own little flub. Trixx began to say something, but their voice was drowned out by the buzzing of Alya’s phone.

“What on earth… ‘Any1 whos willing n abl 2 come, we r visiting Lila 2mo aftr sch. All invited’. OK, now I **know** something’s up, Marinette would **nev ver** do something like this for Lila. Chloe is definitely up to something, and I’m going to stop it!” Alya said, glaring at her phone.

“I think you’re making a mistake, this doesn’t smell like a prank to me,” Trixx replied, flitting across to her phone and sniffing.

“Well, My instincts are telling me that things are up. Wanna come with me to school tomorrow to investigate? I hear that Kwamis can phase through things. Like locker doors,” she said with a grin.

“Devious, cunning and more than a little bit morally grey. I love it!” Trixx answered with a grin of their own.


	12. Recouperation

A night and a day later, the school bell rang and the kids of Mademoiselle Bustier’s class were gathering on the steps outside the school, when an extravagant stretch limousine pulled up at the kerb. Chloe stepped forward, and turned to face the gathered classmates. She explained that it had been her idea to arrange the visit, and that Marinette had graciously offered to send the message because Chloe’s reputation wasn’t stellar. In truth, the whole idea, including Chloe’s lie, had been Marinette’s idea, something to start the ball rolling with Chloe winning back the class. They arrived at the hospital in good time, and were taken to a waiting area near where Lila was being kept. The class divided into three groups so as not to overwhelm the girl, and the first group approached.

“Lila?” Ms Bustier asked, as she teased the door open.

“Hello?” Lila’s voice came from the private room.

“Hi! I’m Mademoiselle Bustier, your school teacher. Your classmates have arranged to come and visit you, if that’s alright with you,” the teacher replied. Lila’s face lit up, and she nodded her head emphatically.

“Please! I’ve been in here all alone for two days now!” she said, practically hopping up and down on the bed. Caline swung the door open further and she walked in with Marinette, Alya, Chloe and Sabrina in tow. “Oh! You’re… Chloe, right?” she said upon seeing the blonde, who tensed up.

“I… yes, I’m… Chloe Bourgeois,” she replied stiffly.

“It was Chloe’s idea to gather everyone to come and see you Lila! We’ve all been so worried about you since your accident,” Sabrina pipped in, pushing past Alya and Marinette to present the girl with a colossal bouquet of flowers and a huge teddy bear.

“Tch…” Alya muttered softly, earning a soft jab in the ribs from Marinette.

“Oh wow! Thank you so much! Um…” the bedridden girl said, glancing blankly at the ginger girl.

“Oh! I’m Sabrina, Sabrina Raincomprix! But Chloe was the one who bought everything! All I did was go to the florist and pick out the florals and figure out the harmony of the bouquet and get the teddy bear from Pain d’Epices and bring everything here, hardly anything at all!” Sabrina said, setting the bear down on one of the chairs next to the bed.

“Hi Lila. I’m Marinette, and this is Alya. We’re both really glad that you’re OK. Did the doctors tell you anything about what happened?” Marinette said, as Alya nodded at the stricken girl from the foot of the bed.

“They… said a lot of confusing things. They said my memory isn’t… gone, it’s like it… it never was. Something about my brain not showing fatigue, or something like that,” the girl said, frowning heavily. “Um... do any of you know why my parents haven’t come to see me?” she asked, a faint catch in her words hinting that this was a sore subject.

“We… don’t really know much about your parents. You were always a bit... um… not-truthy, about your home life,” Alya said awkwardly, forcing herself not to sound quite as angry as she felt.

“Oh…” Lila said, her head hanging a little.

“I-I’m sure that they’re just really busy!” Chloe chipped in suddenly, grabbing Lila’s hand firmly. “After all, they are very important people, diplomats I believe. And I know that for certain, because the daughter of a diplomat is exactly the class of person someone such as myself would be friends with!” she finished with a flourish.

“Tch!” Alya huffed, rolling her eyes and shaking her head in irritation.

“Alya!” Marinette snapped, as her friend glared back at her.

“What? I’m supposed to be nice to the person who suckered me in and almost ruined my relationship with my best friend just because she conveniently lost all her memories? I can’t do this, I need to not be here,” she shot back, pushing past Marinette and Sabrina to storm out the door.

“Alya!” Marinette called as she ran after her friend.

“I… is that true? Did I really do that?” Lila asked, tears welling up as she turned to Chloe.

“It’s… possible?” Chloe replied.

“Alya, wait! Please!” Marinette cried as she turned a corner after her friend, only to almost bump into the girl who had halted with her fist against the wall.

“Please leave me alone Marinette! I just, I can’t, I can’t deal with her right now!” Alya hissed, flinching away from Marinette’s hand as she rested it on her shoulder.

“I know it’s hard,” Marinette began.

“Do you!?” Alya snapped, twisting back to face the girl. Marinette stared back at her, expression growing stern.

“Yes. You’ve been a victim of her lying once. I’ve been enduring it ever since she got here. I hate her! I can’t stand the sight of her! But that girl in there, that scared, lonely girl with no idea where she’s been and what she’s done the last three years, that’s not her!” she said, stepping towards Alya again.

“Aren’t you the least bit suspicious about all this? How conveniently she loses her memory right after grabbing an Akuma out of thin air and targeting **you specifically** to try and do, god only knows what?”

“Of course I’m suspicious! I’m not letting my guard down for a second! But, on the off chance that what she’s going through is genuine, I’m not going to be a complete bitch to someone who just needs some friends,” Marinette said, hand rising gently onto Alya’s shoulder.

“I know… I know! I just… hurts, y’know? Girl, she wrecked my life! Making me lose Nino, almost making me lose you…” Alya replied, physically shaking as her emotions surged through her. Marinette stepped in again, this time slipping an arm around the girl’s back, pulling her in for a tender hug.

“I know. I’m so, so sorry that you had to go through that,” the shorter girl said softly, looking up into her friends eyes. “But I know that you’ve got it in you to be the better person. You’ve seen it already, if _Chloe_ can be a better person, then I know you can,” she finished with a smile. Alya grumbled again, slumping her head forward to knock her forehead against Marinette’s own.

“That was a dirty trick and you know it!” she huffed, but with a weak smile on her face. “Alright, I’ll go back, and I’ll try to be nice. Who knows, maybe Lila of the Lethe in there might actually be as cool as she pretended to be,” she said with a slight wink.

“I wouldn’t quite go _that_ far, but, who knows. The important thing is that we help her,” Marinette said, pulling back from the hug a little. A little twinge ran through her, as Alya broke from the hug and moved to walk back towards Lila’s room, and as she followed behind her friend, a small but very intrusive thought bubbled up in the back of her mind. _You were expecting her to kiss you, weren’t you?_

Marinette and Alya returned with apologies to Lila, and the group spent another few minutes before the next one came in. Rose gave Lila a vase filled with scented pressed flowers that she and Juleka had gathered and made, and Nathaniel presented her with a sketch book containing headshots of everyone in class as well as a few teachers, something for her to keep close to try and help jog her memories. Ivan and Mylene had no presents but offered their support and their well wishes, and they excused themselves after a bit more time for the final group to come in.

“Whoa, Lila, you look real well!” Kim exclaimed as he entered the room, louder than Lila had been expecting. The girl flinched and pulled back a little, looking over to the teacher, who sighed.

“Kim, she may look fine, but she _is_ in a hospital. Please try and keep to your indoor voice, and your quiet one at that,” she said. Max chuckled as his something complicated partner slumped dejectedly.

“Hey Lila. I’m Nino, this is my bro Adrien. We were all mad worried when we heard you’d lost your memories,” Nino said, approaching the bed with a smile.

“Hello Nino. You’re into music, right?” she replied, getting a gasp from the boy in blue.

“Whoa, that’s totally right! Did you get some memories back!?” he gasped. Lila let out a little chuckle, as did Miss Bustier.

“Sorry, I fooled you a little. One of the boys before gave me this,” she said, opening the sketch book to reveal the picture of Nino, complete with his oversized headphones and a faraway look like he was deep into the song he was listening to. “Miss Bustier said a joke might help ease the tension a little,” she explained with a weak smile.

“Well, you totally got me!” Nino replied with a chuckle, pointing his finger guns at her.

“Hey, I’m Alix. I-” the diminutive girl began, when the door swung open.

“Sir, please, you need an appointment first!” a nurse called as Gabriel Agreste stepped into the room, followed closely by Nathalie. Adrien’s eyes widened with a gulp, and he tensed up.

“Forgive us, he didn’t want there to be any media attention surrounding the visit. If I could jus-” Nathalie’s voice began, before being cut off by the door closing behind Gabriel.

“Mr Agreste, this is certainly a surprise. Adrien hadn’t informed me that you would be coming too,” Miss Bustier said, rising to offer her hand to him. He regarded the extended hand for a moment, before blinking.

“The decision to visit Miss Rossi was a spur of the moment thing. I had not been informed of her condition until a few hours ago. Miss Rossi showed much promise as a colleague to my son, and I wished to come here and give her my well wishes,” he said simply, stepping past Nino, who glared at his back once he was past.

“Whoa, doesn’t he, like, never leave his house? He’s super strict, right?” Kim whispered to Alix, who shrugged her shoulders with a sneer.

“Dude’s got Adrien on a short leash, I can’t imagine him being sunshine and rainbows outside of treating his son like an elaborate mannequin,” Alix replied, crossing her arms firmly. Something about her attitude towards Gabriel Agreste intrigued the sporty boy, but he didn’t pursue the curiosity just yet.

“Good afternoon Miss Rossi. I trust you are being treated well in this establishment,” Gabriel said, bobbing his head slightly in respect.

“T-thank you sir, yes, they’re treating me very well. I’m sorry, but I really don’t remember, you said I… worked with your son?” Lila asked, eyes wide with curiosity.

“Indeed, you and Adrien have been in several photoshoots together recently, with two of them even… being… in…” Max began, slowing to a halt as Gabriel stared across at him, face like thunder.

“Who are you?” he spoke, his tone icy. Max gulped.

“M-Max Kante, sir,” he replied.

“Kante… the driver during the Startrain incident was named Kante.”

“Yes, sir. That was my mother.”

“I see. Lila, I hope to hear from you once you are released, you were a promising young model, and it would be a terrible shame to see that go to waste,” Gabriel said, snapping his attention back to Lila, leaving Max to shiver in fear. He glanced over to Kim whose expression was a picture of pure anger, and hurriedly shook his head and his hands.

“Father,” Adrien began, only to flinch when the tall male turned to face him.

“Adrien. I see our little talk about Chloe Bourgeois has stuck with you, at least. Come along, you will be late for your Chinese lesson otherwise,” he said, before pacing to the door. Adrien sighed.

“Yes, Father,” he said, following after the imposing fashion designer. The door closed behind him, and the room breathed a collective sigh of relief.

“Nobody likes him, am I right?” Lila asked after a few moments of awkward silence. Nino let out a chuckle, and sat down on a chair next to her.

“No, nobody likes him, but I’m starting to like you even more,” he replied with a grin.

The rest of the day passed without much incident, and, having performed the small miracle of completing all the homework she had due the next evening, Marinette sped out into the night as Ladybug, a plan in her mind and a purpose to her meandering swing. She landed at her destination, and gently rapped on the glass of the window.

“Ladybug!” Alya exclaimed in an excited whisper once she had pushed the window open. The heroine dropped inside with ease, smile gracing her lips at the exuberance Alya displayed.

“Sorry to turn up so late, but I needed to talk to you, quite urgently,” Ladybug said. Alya looked outright dismayed, and Ladybug’s smile soon vanished.

“I… I know what this is about,” Alya said quietly, hand moving to clutch tightly at the necklace that rested beneath her top. “Kim, Max, Kagami, even Luka so I’ve heard. They don’t remember being Miraculous holders. That’s what Chat called you about, wasn’t it?” she went on, taking a deep, shuddered breath.

“Yes. Their memories were wiped when they renounced ownership of the Miraculous,” Ladybug said, hanging her head. “And I’ve come to ask you to do the same,” she finished. Silence filled the room, Alya’s eyes flitting this way and that to avoid Ladybug’s gaze.

“Trixx…” Alya whispered, and the orange Kwami zipped up to the girl’s face. “I’m sorry I wasn’t the best companion. I… I’m gunna miss you,” she said, tears welling up and falling down her cheeks. The Kwami let out a whimper of sadness and began to nuzzle at her tenderly.

“I’m so sorry it has to be this way,” Ladybug said, holding her hand out towards Alya. Slowly, Alya unhooked the necklace, and, after a long moment’s hesitation, placed it onto the heroine’s outstretched palm.

“I, Alya Cesaire… r-renounce my ownership of the Fox Miraculous,” she said, blinking back more tears. Ladybug mouthed ‘thank you’ to the girl, as the room filled with light. She stepped forward, catching the girl gently as she began to topple.

“Thank you Alya. I…” she began, her words catching in her throat. Again her heart pulled at her, pulled her gently towards the girl who she held in her arms. “I think I…” she continued, but again, words just failed her. “I hope this works,” she finished, touching her forehead to Alya’s as she lowered the girl onto her bed.


	13. Revelation

“L-Ladybug? What’s going on?” Alya mumbled, roused from her slumber by the gentle touch of fingers brushing her cheek. Ladybug quickly drew her hand back, as if caught doing something she shouldn’t have been.

“Ah! Y-you’re awake! I’m OK you’re glad, I mean, glad you’re OK!” she squeaked, arms flailing wildly before she was able to regain her composure. “How do you feel?”

“Tired… sore… I… nnh… I was… here with you? And then… I fell asleep?” Alya asked, rubbing her eyes. Ladybug glanced over at the girls alarm clock, noting that she had been here almost an hour.

“I’m here to ask you a few questions. Do you remember anything about what happened during the Sapotis Akuma?” she asked. Alya blinked once or twice.

“Um… I know that there was… a new hero?” she said hesitantly. She winced firmly, as if a sudden pain had shot through her mind. “Owww. Nnhh, sorry, feels like I’ve got one heck of a migrane,” she said.

“That’s my fault. I’m sorry. But I think I have something that will make it go away,” she said, smiling softly. “Alya Cesaire, how would you like to become a superhero?” she asked.

“Ladybug, it has been my life’s dream to become a superhero. You have no idea how badly I want this! I’ll do anything! I promise I won’t get in the way, I’ll use the Ladyblog to keep people from figuring out your identity, anything you want and I’ll do it,” Alya said, sitting upright in a rush, practically bouncing on her bed despite the pains in her head.

“Alya Cesaire. I am giving to you the Fox Miraculous. Do you accept this gift?” Ladybug said, offering the pendant to her.

“Yes! I accept! AAHHHHHHNNNN!!!” Alya said, lurching as a huge wave of pain rippled through her. She fought to keep her voice quiet as her body shuddered in agony. And then, in an instant, all the pain had gone, leaving only the faint memory of it ever being there in the first place.

“Are you OK?” Ladybug asked, eyes wide with concern.

“I… think so… for the record, that’s something I never want to do again,” Alya replied in a weak whisper, hands shaking as she turned them over.

“Do you remember Sapotis?” Ladybug asked again. Alya nodded her head gently.

“Etta and Ella, they were being more of a pain than usual. You… asked me to help. To become Rena,” she said, holding up the necklace. “But why? Why ask me to forget, only to give it back to me?”

“Blame Chat for that one. It was so that you would know what it was like to forget. The other Miraculous holders, they have been through the process, all except Chloe. This way, you know what the sensation is like, what the emptiness is like, in case Hawkmoth targets you,” Ladybug answered, taking the necklace and looping it around Alya’s neck, leaning a little closer to her than perhaps was necessary.

“But why give it back to me?” Alya asked, looking up into Ladybug’s eyes.

“Because I trust you. Because, you’re the best person I know for the job. You can’t ever become Rena Rouge again. But that’s not going to stop you being the user of the Fox Miraculous,” Ladybug said, smiling warmly at Alya, who began to blush.

“I don’t understand,” she whispered back to the heroine.

“This might explain things. I had a friend design these as a favour,” Ladybug said, pulling from her Yo-yo a small handful of rolled up papers. The pages were torn from a sketch book she never used, and she had taken great care to make the drawings look less like her usual style. She presented them to Alya, who looked down at them, slack jawed.

“A re-design? Will that even work?” she asked, flicking her gaze back to Ladybug, who glanced away from it, scratching at her cheek faintly.

“Well… about that. We… don’t know. Tikki, my Kwami, says that it’s technically possible, but she’s never done it before. So I guess that makes you a fox and a guinea pig,” she said, smiling awkwardly.

“Hey, Trixx,” Alya said, calling to the Kwami who emerged from the necklace with a lilt of laughter. “What d’ya think? I like this one,” she said, showing one particular design to the orange creature.

“Hmm… not nearly enough tail for my liking, but I can make it work!” they replied, grinning toothly.

“Perfect! I don’t know if you’ll need time to prepare, we’re sort of stepping into the unknown here, but let me know how things go in a day or two. For now, get some rest. Going through that process twice has to have taken a lot out of you,” Ladybug said, stepping away from Alya who nodded, her eyes not leaving the designs.

“Ladybug!” she called out, just as the masked girl was about to leave. “I… thank you. For trusting in me. It means… everything to me, it really does.” Ladybug nodded at her, smiling warmly before zipping out into the night.

Barely five minutes later, as she was swinging towards home, Ladybug caught sight of a familiar silhouette on the top of a building. She considered heading off without saying anything, but despite her body protesting about it, she adjusted her swing, and landed a few metres back from the figure.

“…ty on the roof, all alone without his lady,” Chat sang, unaware of Ladybugs presence until she cleared her throat uninvasively. “Oh. I didn’t realise I had an audience. Sorry for disturbing y-OH! Buginette! You’re a sight for weary eyes,” he said, his tone shifting from demure and sad to something close to his usual whimsical brightness once he realised who had interrupted his song.

“Hey there Kitty,” she said softly, sitting next to him on the edge of the room. “Something wrong?” Chat’s expression twisted once or twice as he debated himself internally.

“Just wishing someone I relied on for advice and comfort were still here,” he answered eventually. Ladybug nodded her head gently.

“I’m probably a poor substitute for them, but I give fairly good advice, and I’ve been told I give good hugs too,” she said, resting her head against his shoulder.

“Mnnh… thank you, but, as much as it pains me to admit, your heart belongs to another and right now, I feel like if I started to hug you, I might not let go,” he said, tilting his own head so that his ruffled blonde hair rested against her own.

“Chat…” she began, before taking a breath, “I’m sorry. Truly. You are a wonderful person, the best friend anyone could possibly have. Maybe given different circumstances, you’d be someone I could fall for, but…” she paused, struggling with the thoughts racing through her mind. “You’re not… And the other boy… boys… aren’t…” she tried and failed to put it into words.

“It’s fine my Lady, really. You’ll never love me the way I love you. And that’s… OK. If I can’t have Ladybug’s romantic love, then having her platonic love will keep me satisfied,” he said. Ladybug’s arm snaked around his and pulled it against her body.

“This person, who was way better at comforting you than I am, what were they like?” she asked softly.

“Beautiful. Kind, smart, funny. Had a laugh that was infectious, and a heart so big she could have forgiven anyone of anything. She was my mother,” he replied, fighting back the beginnings of tears.

“I’m so sorry,” was all Ladybug could respond with. The pair sat in silence, until a nearby clock tower began to strike. “Oh wow, it’s so late. Well, so early now. I really should get some sleep. Are you going to be OK Chat?” she asked. He nodded, but as she moved to go, he held onto her hand.

“Ladybug… if I told you I had an idea about who Mayura was… what would you do?” he asked. Ladybug blinked at this, heart racing.

“I… don’t know. If it were someone random, perhaps tell the police? If it were someone I knew… I might try and talk to them about it. Somewhere public, so that they couldn’t react badly if they were,” she answered after giving it a little thought.

“And… what if they are? What then?”

“Try and get their Miraculous? Or maybe… find out why, try and talk them out of it,” she said. “Why? Do you have a suspicion?”

“I think I saw her de-transform during the Disfractor fight. I can’t be certain, I was half way out a window, but… I think it was her,” he said.

“Then, try and talk to her. Find out more, ask her questions without it seeming like you know,” Ladybug said. Chat nodded his head.

“Thanks Ladybug. Um…” he said, glancing away before pacing towards her. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, hugging her.

“C-Chat?”

“You’re good at advice and hugs,” he said, pulling back with a smile. He stepped back, and dropped off the roof, his extending baton propelling him out over the skyline. Ladybug shook her head with a smile, before turning, and heading back to her house, her room, her bed, and to sleep.

A yellow eye opened in front of Marinette as she sat on the cushioned bench. A table rested between her and the seat opposite, where the owner of the eye would have been if they had been there. She could feel motion around her, and her brain immediately told her ‘you are on a train’. A second yellow eye opened in front of her, and then a third above them, forming a triangle of yellow orbs in front of her.

“I know you…” Marinette said, to no-one in particular.

“Yes. You know me well, though not as well as the giant,” a voice replied. A face appeared around the eyes, in a way that reminded the twin-tailed girl of the Cheshire cat. The face was also familiar, a pinkish purple, and monstrous, but she could not name the floating head that hung above the table opposite her.

“Will you tell me who you are?” she asked. The head shook.

“That is your job to figure out. But first, you should catch it,” the head said, turning to the door as something smacked into it. Marinette flinched, but she quickly stood, running to the door and pulling it open. There was nothing outside, but as she leaned out the door, she caught a flash of white at the far end of the carriage.

“What if I can’t catch it?” she asked, looking back at the head, but it was no longer there. She let out a sigh, and made her way out into the carriage. The ground outside seemed to be zipping by faster than she could comprehend, but all around them, near and in the distance, colossal mountains rose up into the sky, their peaks obscured by clouds.

“Try to sing. Maybe that will slow it down,” the floating head said, from behind her. Marinette sighed, rolling her eyes.

“I don’t sing. But… OK. Um… laa la laaaa. Uugh. I don’t know any songs,” the girl said, pacing after the white blur at a brisk walking pace. The head followed after her, laughing softly.

“None at all? Not even mine?”

“I would know yours if you told me who you are,” Marinette replied sourly, glaring across at the floating visage. The head laughed cutely, and then nodded towards the door to the next carriage.

“She’s getting away. You’ll need to be fast to catch her,” the head said, swishing around Marinette as she moved to the door, and pushed through it. She could feel contact on her body now, like an unseen creature was using her as a perch.

“Do you promise to tell me who you are when I catch her?” she asked. The head, which was now attached to a disembodied pair of shoulders, nodded emphatically.

“You’ll never catch her, but, sure. I’ll reveal everything,” the figure answered. Again and again Marinette pushed through the train, through sleeper cars and cargo carriages, each time taunted by the purple monster, whose body continued to reappear with every instance. Eventually, they came to a completely empty carriage, without one attached at the far end.

“Hello there,” Marinette cooed gently as she approached the white shape that cowered against the far wall. “Are you afraid? You don’t need to be. Here,” she said, holding out a hand as she approached. The white shape took a step or two forward, and Marinette finally recognised it as a kid, a baby goat, with fur a brilliant alabaster white. It let out a little grunt, glaring up at the face of the monster that now rested on her shoulders and back.

“She’s afraid of me. Makes sense, I am a terror,” the monster said, dropping from Marinette, and taking a step back. “So go, she’s more important than me.”

“Don’t go just yet,” Marinette said, taking hold of the monster’s arm. She gestured to the kid, who stepped over to her, allowing itself to be lifted up in a hand. The monster flinched away from the goat, and Marinette smiled. “I thought so. You were so afraid of one another that you trapped yourselves here. Don’t be afraid, you belong together,” she said, taking the monster’s paw, and placing the goat kid into it. “See?” she said, smiling brightly. The monster opened its mouth to speak, when Marinette’s ears were filled with noise, a loud, screeching noise that shook her awake.

Marinette glared across at her alarm, and slapped a hand onto it to shut it up. She let out a faint groan, and rolled over on her pillow, only to come to rest with her lips touching the slumbering Tikki. She let out a soft giggle, and kissed her companion gently.

“Mnnhh, what’s the time?” Tikki asked with a mumble.

“Seven… I don’t remember setting this alarm…” she said, rubbing her eyes free of the crud that had formed in the night. She glanced at her phone, and the reminder that had popped up five minutes previously. And then, a memory surfaced, once from an agreement she had made before all the hectic craziness had descended, and her life had become even more a shambolic mess than it already had been. “Oh crap! Alya’s dress!” she exclaimed, scrambling to her feet and down the steps from her sleeping area. She pulled the cupboard open, and only the realised that the Miracle Egg was glowing.

“Another Miraculous has awoken, Marinette!” Tikki squeaked as she flitted down to join the new Guardian, who placed her hand upon the shining artifact. A pair of hair clips appeared from the shining light, dropping delicately into the girl’s open palm. From those, another light arose, and a black and white Kwami with small horns jutting out of its head appeared from the light.

“Ziggi!” Marinette exclaimed with a smile, accidentally causing the creature to flinch in surprised.

“Oh! I’m awake! It was… not quite my time, but… I think today makes sense,” she said, glancing from Marinette to Tikki.

“Welcome back!” Tikki said with a grin.

“What do you mean, not your time… time! Oh gosh, I’m sorry Ziggi, but I need to be somewhere! You and Tikki can catch up in here though,” she said, glancing around for her hair ties, before sighing. She brushed her loose hair back over her shoulders, and used the clips to hold it back, grabbing a bolt of fabric and a bag of crafting tools from the cupboard.

Chloe twiddled her thumbs as she sat waiting for the doctor to arrive. She had had to request special allowances to get to see Lila this early, but something in her bones told her that she needed to speak to the girl again. So, the heiress had used more favours than she would like to admit to in order to get a special one on one meeting with Lila, once the girl was done with her morning checks with the doctor. Ten minutes more drifted by before the doctor, a tall woman with rounded glasses and curly brown hair approached her.

“Good morning Miss Bourgeois. Lila is recovering well. She’ll be going home soon, as long as one of her family members comes to get her. She’s ready to see you now,” she said with a smile. Chloe nodded, thanking the doctor for her help in arranging the meeting. Chloe paced towards the room, and knocked gently on the door.

“Come in,” Lila’s weak voice called from the room, and Chloe pushed the door aside. The room was still scattered with the presents she had been brought the previous day, though it looked like some of the chocolates had been eaten and judging by where the wrappers had been put, not by Lila.

“So, hey…” Chloe began, chiding herself immediately for such a half-hearted opener. Lila seemed not to notice, her smile growing exponentially as she seemed to light up upon seeing Chloe.

“Chloe! I’m so glad to see you again!” Lila practically squeaked, beaming from ear to ear. She struggled forwards, and pushed the bedding aside, pulling herself up and out of the bed. She let out an actual squeak as her toes hit the cold floor, and she flailed a little, stumbling forwards. Chloe reacted quickly, dashing forwards to catch the girl as she fell, arms wrapped firmly around the stricken girl whose face flushed brightly.

“Are… are you OK?” Chloe whispered, eyes wide with fear. Lila nodded her head gently, gazing up at Chloe.

“Mmhm. My hero,” Lila replied reverently, squeezing Chloe tightly. Chloe’s own cheeks began to turn pink, and she quickly pulled the girl upright, taking a firm step backwards, coughing awkwardly.

“Ah, you, you’re recovering well? The doctor said you were almost ready to leave?” she said, glancing away from the girl.

“Yeah, if my mother turns up. Apparently, she’s the only one of my family who lives with me here, and she’s been in Bordeaux for a week,” Lila said, sourness in her tone blatantly apparent.

“You still don’t remember anything?” Chloe asked. Lila shook her head, but her expression told Chloe it was complicated.

“I have been told things, and then remembered more details about the things I’ve been told about, but, nothing has come back on its own,” she said, taking a step towards Chloe again. “I don’t think I’m eleven anymore. I know how old I am, and I know how much of a bitch I’ve been, especially to the class, and Marinette,” she said.

“Uugh, that goodie two shoes…” Chloe began, before biting her tongue. “Sorry. Old habits. I was the bitch to her before you… old you… turned up,” she said, with a faint chuckle, “and despite ruining her life for almost a decade, she’s currently helping me spend time with my best friend behind his father’s back,” she added.

“Well, I think I’ve pushed things too far, especially with her and Alya. I apparently broke Alya up with her boyfriend before I… lost my memories,” Lila said, glancing at her feet.

“Cesaire was only fooling herself dating that DJ. She fawns over Marinette more than that giant Ivan fawns over Mylene, I swear,” Chloe said, rolling her eyes. Lila giggled gently.

“Ivan and Mylene really do seem like they’re in love, don’t they?” she said. Chloe shrugged her shoulders.

“I suppose,” she said, sitting on the bed. Lila sat next to her, sighing softly.

“I’d give almost anything to have that. Someone who was so head over heels for me that they’d, like… **need** to be with me,” she said, placing her hand on the bed, fingers accidentally resting on Chloe’s own. The two girls locked eyes for a moment, and Chloe could have sworn she felt something tug at her, like an invisible hand gently pulling at her insides.

“The Reason I’m Here!” Chloe snapped suddenly, pushing away from the bed and taking a handful of steps away from it. “I wanted to warn you.”

“Warn me?”

“Be wary of Gabriel Agreste. He is a controlling, manipulative, cold, calculating, self-obsessed monster. And I should know,” Chloe said, fixing Lila with a stern gaze. “He will try to use you to control Adrien even more, so please, be careful,” she finished. Lila’s expression grew similarly stern, and she nodded at the girl.

“I’ll be on my guard around him. I promise,” she said.


	14. Breathless

Marinette arrived at Alya’s place in a rush, to be greeted by an excited Marlene Cesaire, who quickly hurried her into the apartment and to Alya’s room.

“Thank you so much for helping with this Marinette, Alya’s aunt is so excited to see Alya for her wedding, you’re a real life saver,” she said, and Marinette smiled brightly.

“It’s my pleasure, I’ve been really interested in Caribbean styles since Alya showed me all the photos from her trip, so getting to work with traditional Martinique designs is a really treat!” she replied, holding up the book that Alya’s mother had lent her a few weeks previously.

“Again, thank you so much. You’d be shocked to find out how much some places would charge for something good looking made in Madras, and I will not have Alya dressing up in some… party costume,” Marlene said, and Marinette nodded.

“My mother’s the same. My dad once bought me a cheap _qipao_ from a costume shop for a party and she got so mad that she cut it apart. And not with scissors either, with a bread knife,” Marinette said, eyes widening slightly at the memory. Marlene let out a gentle giggle.

“Remind me never to get on Sabine’s bad side,” she said with a smile. Marlene left Marinette to find her way to Alya’s room, which she let herself into after a gentle knock to give Trixx the subtle hint to hide, only to find Alya still asleep. The girl approached her sleeping friend, gently sitting on the side of the bed.

_So cute… Err, I mean… beautiful! Nice! Adorable! Aaaaggh!!_ She thought, running her hands over her cheeks to try and stave off the blush that was quickly spreading across them.

“Nnnhhh… Trixx?” Alya mumbled softly, rolling over to face Marinette.

“No tricks, just your friend, graciously sacrificing hours of sleep for you and your faily,” Marinette replied, poking her tongue out with a smirk. Alya hurriedly sat up, reaching to her bedside table for her glasses. Marinette grabbed them and handed them across to Alya, noting that the sketch pages she had given her were resting on the top. She chose not to mention them, but did notice that Alya had scribbled a few notes around them, and had changed the contours of the dress to match to Rena’s body more, slimmer at the hips and waist, and wider at the bust.

“Thanks. What’re you doing here girl?” Alya asked, taking the glasses and slipping them onto her face. She looked down at the case of supplies Marinette had brought, and her expression fell. “Oh no…” she said.

“Oh yes! It’s dress day!” Marlene said, leaning around the door frame. Marinette giggled as Alya groaned, and then let out a squeak as she felt feet kick at her from under the duvet.

“You couldn’t have overslept this one time? I can’t even rely on you to be unreliable!” Alya said in jest, pulling her duvet up over her head with a groan.

Twenty minutes later, Alya was stood in her pyjamas, as Marinette held a tape measure around her stomach.

“Will you stop breathing in like that! Do you want to have to hold your breath in for the entire event, or do you want one to be comfortable _and_ stylish?” Marinette chided as she prodded at Alya’s stomach. The girl breathed out with an annoyed grunt, and stepped back from the designer with a pout.

“C’mon, this is taking soooo long,” she replied, crossing her arms firmly over her chest. Marinette rolled her eyes, and sat back onto her little stool.

“It’s taking soooo long because you refuse to let me take your actual measurements like a child! Will you please trust me to make you look good?” Marinette replied with a huff. Alya grumbled, but breathed out as the seamstress reached around her again. Noting the number down in a notepad, she pulled the tape measure back, and scooted a little closer. She moved the measuring tape up, hesitating momentarily with her hand inches from Alya’s inner thigh.

“S-something wrong?” Alya asked, and Marinette hurriedly shook her head.

“N-n-nothing! I’m ferectly pine, I mean, pot being a nerv, I mean, I mean, I-I just got lost in my own thoughts is all!” she squeaked, and pressed her hand firmly against Alya’s leg with an audible slap.

“Uugh, see that. Jiggle jiggle, I’m getting so fat…” Alya muttered. Marinette shook her head with a sigh, running her hand along Alya’s leg down past her knee, and to her ankle, taking a note of the measurements again.

“You’re not fat,” she said quietly, sitting back on her ankles and turning to look up at her friend.

“I am Marinette. I’m jiggly and pudgy and soft and uugh, I hate it, I hate being this un-pretty,” Alya said, stepping back from Marinette, who pushed herself upright in an instant, a stern look on her face.

“You ARE pretty!” she snapped, crossing the distance between her and Alya. “You’re more than pretty, you’re beautiful! Your hair is gorgeous, your skin is spotless, your eyes are, like, the most stunning brown I have ever seen, and they sparkle like gemstones! You’re not stick thin, no, but who wants to look like Chloe? Have you **seen** her wrists, they’d snap if she had to carry something heavier than a phone!” Marinette said, cheeks getting redder and redder as she stared up at her friend.

“Y-you… think so? But… I’m so beefy,” Alya said, her own cheeks darkening.

“You’re strong! I’ve seen you lift both your sisters above your head at the same time. I doubt even Ivan could do that! And, by the way, I have seen your older sister. Muscles are a look you could definitely pull off,” Marinette continued, and Alya let out a chuckle despite herself.

“Wow. Well, if I’m worth of such praise from someone as amazing as you, then I guess there’s no arguing. I’d still like to lose a bit of weight though,” Alya said, smiling.

“Let me get these measurements done, and I’ll have it looking like you weigh less than Rose,” Marinette said, smirking. She grabbed her tape again, and wrapped it around Alya’s thigh.

“Nnhh… could you be a bit more careful there?” Alya mumbled, suppressing a giggle. Marinette’s smirk widened.

“Oh? Were you ticklish here? Do you have some crazy sensitive thighs that you almost never let anyone touch, a fact that you told me in confidence and asked me to never exploit?” Marinette said, eyes gleaming with mischief.

“You wouldn’t DEAH!” Alya squeaked, as Marinette’s fingers brushed across her bare skin. She tried to pull away, but Marinette’s tape measure held her in place, allowing the girl to continue her teasing. Alya was in a fit of giggles in seconds, pleading for Marinette to stop, until she stumbled over a discarded show and fell forwards onto her friend, pinning her to the floor.

“Nngh. I take it back, you w-” Marinette began, opening her eyes to see Alya’s face a few inches from her own. Her eyes were drawn naturally to the girl’s lips, soft, lightly pouted, no blemishes or cracks. Despite Alya’s aversion to makeup, she took care of herself. Marinette couldn’t help but feel in awe of the girl. Meanwhile, Alya found herself staring down at Marinette, one leg to the side of her, one leg between hers. Her glasses had slid down her nose just enough to pull her focus to Marinette’s eyes, dazzling blue and deep, so deep she found herself getting lost in them.

“Marinette…” she whispered, heart thundering against her chest. Marinette’s eyes darted up, meeting Alya’s as she let out a brief, shuddered gasp.

“Alya?” came the hoarse response from the stricken seamstress. Marinette reached up slowly, pushing Alya’s glasses back up her face gently, tenderly, as neither girl broke eye contact.

“**Giiiiirls! Breakfast!**” Marlene’s voice carried out from the kitchen area, and seconds later there came a thundering sound from the corridor beyond.

“Breakfast! Breakfast!” Etta and Ella cried out in harmony with one another, rushing past the door as Alya and Marinette scampered away from one another.

“R-right, breakfast,” Alya said, clutching at her chest.

“Y-yes. I just, I just, I need a few more… we can get them before school,” Marinette said, arms resting across her own chest tightly. Alya quickly grabbed a pair of jogging bottoms and slid into them, rushing past Marinette towards the kitchen. The seamstress’s eyes followed Alya, or to be more specific, Alya’s rear, as she walked out of the room, and a thought ran through her head, which she let flop back against the bed side table she had scooted into.

_Oh crap._

Breakfast was an awkward affair, but the girls got through it, and once they returned to Alya’s bedroom, Marinette took her measurements without a word from Alya. They made their way to school with light conversation, and made their way to their new seats at the back of the class.

“Ohh, here comes Adrien. Are you gunna say hi to him today?” Alya asked, as the blonde walked into the classroom, looking a little haggard.

“Adrien? Are you OK?” Marinette called out, surprising her friend and the model with her forthright question.

“Oh, hey Marinette, Alya. I’m OK, just… didn’t get much sleep. There was a cat on my roof making noise most of the night,” he said, putting his hand up to his mouth to yawn. “I’m sure I’ll get over it in an hour or so,” he added, pinching the bridge of his nose. Marinette was about to push the matter and question him more, when Chloe and Sabrina walked into the room. They headed to their seat, but before Chloe sat, she looked up at Marinette, quirking an eyebrow. Marinette nodded her head gently, smiling at the girl.

“What was that?” Alya asked, glancing between the two, as Marinette stood, and began to walk down the classroom.

“A-Adrien? I was wondering, if, if you had some free time tomorrow, w-would you like to come and play Ultimate Mecha Strike III with me and my father?” she asked the boy, who had turned to face her. His face lit up in a bright smile.

“I’d love to Marinette! I still owe him a rematch, after all. I think I can only spare an hour though, I’ve got something else planned for a little later in the day,” he said.

“That’s perfect! How does Midday sound? I’ll get lunch prepared and everything!” she said with a smile.

“That sounds great! I’m a big fan of your father’s quiche!” Adrien replied, beaming at Marinette.

“Excellent! I’ll see you there!” Marinette said with a grin, before turning on her heels. She headed back up to her seat, but not before shooting Chloe a quick wink. She sat back down next to a wide eyed Alya, who pulled her in to whisper to her.

“What the heck was that girl? All that confidence talking to Adrien, the sudden plans, and Chloe? I **knew** she was up to something! What did she do to you, is she blackmailing you into all this?” she hissed, glancing across at Adrien and then at Chloe. Marinette let out a little chuckle, and leaned in closer.

“I’m just being nice. I can’t go into detail because I promised, but I’m doing a good deed, don’t worry. And what do you mean, you knew she was up to something?” Marinette asked with a confused glance at her friend.

“I… well… uh…” Alya mumbled, before hanging her head. “A few days ago, when we were camming, you uh… didn’t cancel the call. I noticed when I saw Chloe in your room and… well… I heard some stuff,” she said, taking hold of Marinette’s hand suddenly. “Girl you know I would never eavesdrop on you but I was still so shaken from… well, everything that’s gone on lately, I made another terrible decision. I stopped watching after like five minutes and I know that doesn’t make it any better but I swear, I promise, I’ll not do anything like it again,” she finished. Marinette drew her hand back slowly, taking a long breath as she composed herself.

“I’m hurt that you would do something like that, but I understand why you did it. I’m not going to hold it against you, but please don’t be mean to Chloe about this. She’s not ‘stealing me away’, she’s not plotting anything. She’s regretting her actions, and sad about not being able to hang out with her friend, so, we’re sneaking Adrien to my house to ‘play games with my father’ while she ‘comes round to give me makeup advice’. They’re not hanging out together, officially, but they get to spend the time together,” she said, smiling at Alya.

“But… what about Adrien? She’s your rival!” Alya whispered back, noting with a quick twitch of her eyes that more classmates were coming in. Rose entered with Juleka on her heels, and glanced up at the two of them huddled close to one another and whispering, and she gave Alya a wink.

“I… don’t know how I feel about Adrien any more. I’d be happy to see him happy… even if that means him dating someone else. Like I think he is doing, y’know, with Kagami,” Marinette said with a smirk.

“Girl… you’re too kind for your own good, you know that,” Alya said, shifting back to her seat properly, cheeks warming after Rose’s sly wink.

“And you’re altogether too curious for yours,” Marinette replied, poking her tongue out at the girl.

The first class of the day came and went, but the second was dragging on and on. Dual researched presentations, first was Chloe and Sabrina on a subject that Chloe only seemed to have tangential knowledge of, and then Rose and Juleka on something cloyingly cute, with a dark twist every now and then from the taller girl. Kim and Max were due to be up, but neither had been seen all day.

“Well, since there’s still been no word from either of them, I guess we’ll use this time to go over some of the points raised by-” Miss Bustier said, when a hand’s worth of thick, red and green fingers slammed their way through the wall of the classroom, and another near two inch wide finger jutted through above the hand, carving a wide circle into the wall. The section was then pulled away from the building, and hurled up into the air, allowing the perpetrator to swing into the room, barely fitting into it. Whilst all this was going on, the class had retreated to the far side of the room, with Miss Bustier stood between them and the monster.

“Not so fast!” the colossal two headed beast roared, two arms thrust towards Miss Bustier, with a further two holding a large tablet-like screen, the hands holding it seemingly attached to it, save for the thumbs.

“Akuma!” Sabrina shrieked.

“Everyone, run away now! I’ll… hold it back,” Miss Bustier said, hesitantly. She spread her arms wide to protect the class, stepping forward to obstruct the monster as people began to slip out of the door.

“It’s not them we’re after!” the akuma cackled, stomping forward to pick Caline up with one colossal hand.

“Miss Bustier!” Marinette exclaimed, rushing towards her teacher. Alya and Juleka both grabbed at her, pulling her way and out of the room as the Akuma dropped Caline down behind her desk.

“W-what do you want from me?” the teacher asked, as the door slammed shut behind the last of her students.

“Presentation!” it roared, tapping at the tablet hurriedly. It then coughed, and held the tablet so that it could read. “Our name is Double Trouble, and we are presenting a paper on the idiom of Brains versus Brawn. To begin,” he began, as Caline looked on, morbid curiosity overriding her fear instincts as she sat and watched.


	15. Capracious

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: It's not a spelling mistake. Don't worry, it'll make sense, just wanted to pre-empt by saying it's not a mistake.

“We need to find somewhere to hide!” Sabrina exclaimed, huddling up behind Chloe as the class milled around in the courtyard.

“I think we need to keep running, that thing could be after us even now,” Nathaniel pipped in, sketch book hugged to his chest as he kept glancing around.

“Either way, we should definitely not try and take out the Akuma on our own!” Alya snapped, glaring at Marinette, who flashed a look back at her.

“It was instinct OK!” Marinette replied with a pout.

“We should wait for the heroes,” Juleka said, brushing her hair back from her face. She caught a glance at Marinette, and made a point of subtly touching her ears where earrings were in Marinette’s ears. Marinette’s eyes widened, and she quickly turned away from Juleka, heart pounding.

“Well, we shouldn’t stay here, and we shouldn’t stay together, we’re more vulnerable as a group! I say we split into run and hide groups, and then go do that in groups of two or three, to keep one another safe,” Chloe said, tapping at her phone. “There’re plenty of safe spaces at the Grand Paris if you want to go there, but I’m not going to force anyone.”

“That’s a real rad idea, nice one Chlo’!” Nino said, giving her a thumbs up. She sighed, rolling her eyes, before taking hold of his outstretched thumb between two fingers and shaking it. The class, despite the danger and the heated discussion, paused for a few moments, before breaking down into laughter.

“What?” Chloe snapped, eyes wide.

“Ohh, that was so adorable!” Rose chirped gleefully, grin almost stretching from ear to ear.

“Even I have to admit, that was cute Chloe,” Adrien said.

“What, is that not right?” Chloe asked indignantly.

“Nah bro, thumbs up is just for acknowledgement, but y’know, if you _want_ to learn a cool secret handshake, I know a few. Hide together so I can teach you?” Nino said. Alya scoffed, only to earn a jab in the ribs from Marinette for doing so.

“Hey! For once, it’s not angry at Chloe,” Alya whispered, and Marinette rolled her eyes.

“You still need to clear the air with him you know. In the meantime, is it not worth us hiding somewhere so you can contact you know who?” Marinette replied.

“Uh… actually, I don’t think Rena will be turning up any more. She said she had to give up being Rena, and that they couldn’t risk her being found out. It’s sorta my fault too, so…” Alya said. Marinette was surprised Alya had thrown herself under the bus as an explanation for Rena not being around, but she found herself fighting off a grin of pride.

“O-oh. I’m sorry Alya. Maybe we should go and find somewhere to hide regardless?” Marinette whispered back. Alya nodded, and the two turned their attention back to the group, which was beginning to disperse. Some had chosen to head into the other classes to explain, whilst others were already making their way off.

“Hey, where’s Mylene?” someone asked, and Marinette’s eyes widened.

“Maybe she’s still back there. Alya, go with Alix, I’ll go and see if I can find her,” the girl said, running off before anyone else could say anything.

Marinette dashed around the corner and through the locker room, into the girls’ toilets. She was about to let Tikki fly free when she heard a gentle sobbing coming from one of the stalls. She ducked back out, and double checked that the locker room was free, before having Tikki transform her. Ladybug swung out of the locker room and rounded the building, swinging back into the classroom through the hole in the wall, leg outstretched.

“Let her go!” she yelled, lashing out at the two headed monster, which deflected the kick with ease. Ladybug flipped back, landing on one of the desks towards the back of the room. She looked around to see that most of the room had been pulverised, with desks and chairs shattered, and several large punch marks in the walls.

“Ladybug! He’s strong!” Caline yelled, earning a roar of anger from the monster.

“SMART AND STRONG!” it snapped, before turning to Ladybug, fists balled.

“Oh yeah? Well you sound pretty dumb to me!” she retorted, swinging her Yo-yo at blistering speed, launching it towards the Akuma, who punched at it, sending it bouncing around the room, striking wall, ceiling, floor, window, before coming back to slam into Ladybug’s midsection, wrapping her up in her own weapon’s chord.

“Hurrhurrhurr! Now who’s dumb? Not Double Trouble!” the akuma rumbled, lumbering forwards to reach for Ladybug’s earrings. At the last moment, the akuma flinched backwards, as a long silver pole shot through the open wall. The weapon struck Ladybug, making her topple backwards with a shriek of pain.

“Aha, looks like I’m… ohh, sorry My Lady. Didn’t mean for that to hit you,” Chat said, grinning sheepishly. He leapt backwards as Double Trouble swung at him, flipping over the wreckage to land closer to the bound heroine. It was the work of a moment to free her, but neither hero could stay still as the bulky akuma swung at them again. Chat tried to deflect the blow, only to be knocked back with enough force to send him through the back wall of the classroom, and into the next.

“Chat!” she exclaimed, leaping after him, only to be grabbed by the Akuma again.

“Sit Down!” it roared, slamming her into the floor, sending wooden shrapnel scattering around her. “We are giving a presentation! Then we’ll be taking your Miraculous!” it snapped.

“Sorry, but there are no confiscations in this lesson!” Chat said, hobbling his way back through the wall, using his baton as a walking aide. Double Trouble let out another roar, and slammed its fist into the teachers desk, shattering it.

“Shut up! Stop talking! We want to give our presentation!” it roared, stomping its feet so hard the floor was beginning to crack.

“Wait! Chat, stop, don’t attack. OK, Double Trouble. We’ll sit here and watch your presentation, if you promise to let Miss Bustier go,” Ladybug said, pulling herself upright with a wobble.

“Hmph… Teacher needs to give a grade,” Double Trouble rumbled.

“OK, how about after she’s given you a grade? You promise not to hurt her in any way, and we’ll stay here and listen to your presentation,” she said.

“Um… My Lady, what are you doing?” Chat whispered, hobbling up next to her.

“Trust me Chat,” she whispered back.

“OK. You stay. We give presentation, we get graded, we let Teacher go, we take Miraculous,” Double Trouble said.

“Deal,” Ladybug said.

“Uhh… really hope you have a good plan,” Chat said, dropping to sit cross legged on a relatively clear patch of floor. Ladybug sat down too, and the monster began to talk. After a few minutes, however, Ladybug raised her hand.

“May I go to the bathroom?” she asked. Double Trouble regarded the upstretched hand, and, after a few moments, turned to face Caline.

“Um…” Caline mumbled after it dawned on her that the akuma was waiting for her to speak. “Y-yes, you can, but be quick,” she said. Double Trouble huffed, but gestured to the door.

“Phew. Thank goodness that worked. Lucky Charm!” Ladybug muttered to herself as she paced back to the locker room again. Her Yo-yo span and the magical lights shined brightly, depositing the goat miraculous from within it into her palm. “The Goat Miraculous? What on earth am I-” she began, as the door to the bathroom swung open, and Mylene walked out, rubbing at her eyes.

“L-ladybug?” she squeaked, as the heroine stared from the lucky charm to Mylene, noting the girl had removed her bandana, and was about to re-attach it. An idea formed almost instantly in the heroine’s mind, and she all but giggled with glee.

“Yes! Mylene! You’re perfect!” she said, taking hold of the nervous girl’s hand. “I need your help to defeat an Akuma,” she said. Mylene pulled back immediately, shaking her head.

“N-n-n-no! You c-c-can’t be serious! That Akuma was huge! I-I-I-I just wanted to get away!” she stammered, backing into the door to the toilets.

“Mylene, I know it’s scary, but you can do this! Remember when you stood up to Mayor Bourgeois? You were so fierce even he was scared of you!”

“Y-you… saw that?” Mylene asked, eyes widening.

“Yup! You’ve been doing environmental work for a while now, and I’m super impressed at how much you’ve managed to achieve, you and your friends,” Ladybug said, smiling at the girl. “You’re a real everyday superhero!”

“I’m… just trying to help the planet,” Mylene mumbled, blushing brightly.

“And I need you to help now. I promise I’ll keep you safe, but I can’t do this alone right now,” she said, showing her the twin hair clips. “Mylene Haprele, this is the Miraculous of the Goat, which gives the power of swiftness. Together with me and Chat Noir, you will use this power to help defeat Double Trouble, and then return the Miraculous to me. Do you accept this responsibility?” she said. Mylene looked down at the clips, hand moving towards them before hesitating.

“I… I don’t want to let everyone down,” she whispered.

“You won’t. I’m sure of it!” Ladybug said. Mylene nodded, and took the hair clips, sliding them into her hair cautiously, like they would break if she weren’t gentle with them. They began to shine brightly, and a grey light began to form into an orb in front of her. She let out a squeak, and tried to cower back with her hands over her face, forgetting momentarily that she was already pressed against the door. The light formed into the shape of a Kwami, and the little creature let out a yawned bleet. It then looked around, saw Mylene, and let out a squeal of its own, zipping behind one of Ladybug’s pigtails.

“W-what is it?” Mylene asked, peeking out from her fingers.

“That’s Ziggi! She’s just as nervous to meet you as you are, I think. Come and say hello,” Ladybug said, reaching up to coax the kwami forwards.

“Um… I-I’m… Ziggi. It’s… n-nice to meet you,” the kwami said, looking up at Mylene. The girl stepped forwards slowly, and cupped her hands below the Kwami.

“She’s… so cute…” she whispered.

“She certainly is. She’s a Kwami, a spirit that will endow you with your power. Just say ‘Ziggi, Ramming Speed’ and you’ll see!” Ladybug said.

“O-OK. Ziggi… Ramming Speed!” Mylene exclaimed. Ladybug shielded her eyes from the ensuing light show, peering back once the brightness had faded. The new heroine stood before her had a black and grey mask over her eyes as well as a similar colour scheme all over, a hood over her hair, and, compared to heroes such as Pegase or Rena , her costume was relatively uninteresting. It reminded the heroine of Chat’s costume, albeit with less cat-like features and more emphasis on curled horn shapes. She even had square cowbell in place of the rounded bell Chat had.

“You look great!” Ladybug said, celebrating inwardly that this costume was not _significantly_ better than hers, merely fractionally better.

“I feel great! Wow, this is really how much stronger and quicker you feel when you transform?” the heroine asked, and Ladybug nodded.

“It’s a lot to take in, I know, but we have to hurry. I’ll explain your powers as we go, but you also need a name, so think about that too,” she said, taking hold of her friend’s hand gently.

“Too long! You were gone too long!!” Double Trouble roared at Ladybug as she walked back into the room. In its anger, the Akuma smashed its fist into the board, shattering it and breaking a hole into the next room over.

“Sorry! I had some… difficulties,” Ladybug said, arms flailing as she tried to calm the akuma down.

“Yeesh. I think this might be the first time ever I’m finding myself _less_ attracted to you…” Chat said with a sour expression on his face. Ladybug shot him an irritated look, and tiptoed around the Akuma, sitting back down on the floor. The Akuma moved to begin talking again, when the door burst open. It hung for a moment, before breaking off its hinges and falling to the floor.

“Eeep! S-sorry!” the black and grey heroine said as she stepped into the room.

“Hrrrrghh!! Too many interruptions! We take your Miraculous now!” Double Trouble roared, stomping its feet in anger.

“Miss Bustier, duck! Capracious, now! Just like I showed you!” Ladybug exclaimed, leaping to her feet, grabbing Chat and pulling him up too.

“Head Rush!” the new heroine exclaimed, running her hands up and over her head, in a sweeping motion. As she did, ethereal horns appeared from her hood, massive, curled things that swept around her head and down her whole form, creating a pair of loops that acted as a form of both attack and defence. Once they had fully formed, she lowered her head, and charged at the Akuma. Or rather, that was her intent, but the movement was so fast even she barely registered herself moving before she had struck the Akuma, sending it straight into, and through, the building’s wall, and out into the Parisian skyline.

“Whoa! Remind me to never get on your bad side. Or between you and wherever it is you want to get to!” Chat said with a chuckle, leaping over the debris to Capracious, who was looking a little dazed. Ladybug dashed to her teacher, helping her back to her feet.

“Chat, I’m going to detransform in a few minutes. Capracious now has five minutes, so please look after her. I’m going to get this teacher to safety and re-transform,” she said, and the feline hero nodded. He headed to the now almost non-existent wall and gestured for Capracious to follow.

“Ladybug, I can assure you, I’m fine, just a little shaken. It’d be better for everyone if you get back out there once you do what you need to,” Caline said, taking hold of Ladybug’s hand softly. Ladybug took a deep breath, and nodded.

“Alright. Miss, the rest of your class were heading out of the school, towards the Grand Paris Hotel I believe, you’re probably safest there. Chat, go on ahead with Capracious, I’ll catch up soon. Oh, and Chat?”

“Yes, my Princess?”

“Do not. Under **ANY** circumstances. Make a ‘Horny’ joke to Capracious,” she said, deadpan. Chat looked wounded.

“My Lady, I would never… yeah, I was absolutely going to make dozens of those jokes. You’re no fun at all,” he said with a pout.

“Y-yeah, that would have really blown…” Capracious said. Both Ladybug and Chat looked at her. “Y-y’know, like, blow a horn…” she mumbled. Chat stepped closer to her, and wrapped his arms around her head, turning to face Ladybug.

“I love her. Can we keep her?” he asked. Ladybug rolled her eyes.

“Only if you’re a good Kitty. Now go and stop Double Trouble!” she said, heading to the broken door.

“Go and stop Double Trouble, if only it were that easy…” Chat muttered as he strained himself to reach his tail, which was currently tied into a knot causing him to hang upside down from a lamp post. He and Capracious had gone after the Akuma, only to have it ambush them at the steps of the Trocadero.

“We know why you’re running! You can’t beat us in a fight!” Double Trouble roared, as it stomped after Capracious, who was currently keeping him occupied by charging around at random.

“Hey Chat-ra,” Ladybug said, putting on a voice to impersonate a character, impersonating another character, from a show that she knew for certain the boy had watched. She had landed in front of the stricken boy, and was leaning on his dropped baton, tossing an apple up and down. “Do you really have time to hang around like that?”

“Adora-ble Lady, would you be so kind as to untie me? I perhaps haven’t been working on my crunches as much as I could have,” he said, reaching feebly for his tail again. Ladybug chuckled, and leapt up, landing on the light with ease. A moment later, the tail was untied, and Chat dropped gracelessly to the floor.

“I see not all kitties land on their feet when you drop them,” she said with a smirk. He shot her a look not too dissimilar from the one she gave him in the classroom, and he flipped back onto his feet as Capracious darted over to them.

“Kept… him… busy… running… out… of… energy…” she panted, stumbling into Ladybug who caught her and kept her upright.

“You’ve done amazing, Capracious! Here,” she said, offering her the apple. “Find somewhere to hide, detransform, and give this to your Kwami. It’ll help her get powered back up. I have a feeling we’re going to need your speed to stop Double Trouble,” she said, and Capracious nodded.

“Any plans My Lady?” Chat asked as he took his staff from the heroine, eyes locked onto the Akuma as it roared at them from a distance, fury on both its faces. Ladybug called for her Lucky Charm, and caught a red and black square cowbell, identical to the one worn by the heroine.

“Just one, and it’s a little bit risky, but I’m guessing you’re more than OK with that,” she said, giving the bell a hollow rattle.

“Danger is my middle name. Chattacles Danger Noir,” he said. Ladybug stifled a giggle, and rolled her eyes, handing him the bell.

“I hope Capracious gets back soon. Use the bell to fool him into thinking you’re her. If he figures out it’s you, be prepared to attack with Cataclysm. I’m pretty certain the Akuma is in the tablet. Capracious will do the same if he is fooled into going after you, but we both need to fill her in if we see her first. This all kinda relies on her, so I hope she’s still got the confidence for all this,” she said, spinning her Yo-yo into a blur before running forwards.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Marinette internally when she sees Mylene’s relatively plain costume: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SuccessKid.jpg#/media/File:SuccessKid.jpg


	16. Conference

Capracious returned to the fight after a few minutes, her Kwami eager to devour the apple Ladybug had given them. It took a bit of time to fool Double Trouble, but, with Ladybug in her last minute, they fooled the Akuma enough to give Chat enough time to get in close and touch the tablet they held with his Cataclysm. Akuma cleansed and Miracle Cure administered to the city, Ladybug apologised to Chat that she needed to get away, and dragged Capracious off with her, sneaking around a corner before getting the heroine to turn around.

“Sorry for the suddenness of this but no-one can know who I am. Not even Chat knows. You can’t tell anyone Capracious was you either, not even Ivan,” she said, before her transformation ran out, and she let out a faint sigh.

“I understand. I promise I won’t tell anyone. I, uh… please, don’t ask me to do this again though,” Mylene said, once she had detransformed. “I-it was super scary, and I know I just about kept it together but even thinking about what I’m going to tell people when they ask where I was it making me worry and I don’t think I could handle that sort of stress long term,” she went on, hands slipping under her bandana to retrieve the hair clips. She held them over her shoulder, and, with a little reluctance, Marinette took hold of them. Tikki glanced to Marinette, and then to Mylene.

“Ladybug wants you to know that she’s not disappointed in you. She’s glad you told her. Being a superhero is a big responsibility, and taking it on whilst not being ready, or able, can lead to big problems,” the kwami said, in between munches of its cookie.

“I’m sorry,” Mylene mumbled. Marinette couldn’t resist putting a hand on the girl’s shoulder, and Mylene reached for it, squeezing it gently. “I should get going… Ivan’s probably already worried about me,” she said. “Thank you for believing in me, Ladybug.” Mylene headed off at some speed, and Marinette re-transformed once she was out of ear shot.

“My lady, are you still here?” Chat called out, and she slipped back around the corner, pacing towards him.

“Yeah, still here. Could be on a beach right now but I’m here. What’s up?” she asked, glancing at the two boys who stood beside her companion.

“These two have something you might want to hear,” he said.

“Ladybug! I, uh… yeah, so, sorry about that… but something was different this time,” Kim said, rubbing at the back of his head sheepishly.

“What my friend means is, when we were akumatised before, we remember nothing of the encounter, but this time, we can both remember what we did… and what Hawkmoth said to us,” Max added.

“Yeah… he was asking us a whole bunch of stuff about the… Miraculous? Whatever those are, and like… he was really peeved that we didn’t know anything,” Kim said. Ladybug’s eyes widened as he spoke, her jaw slowly dropping.

“Then that means…” she began.

“He’s hunting the former Miraculous wielders he knows the identities of,” Chat said, nodding. “First Kagami, then Chloe, now Max and Kim, and I’m fairly certain that Rumoria was meant for either Nino or, more likely, Alya. But Marinette reacted to her friend being bullied so much it went for her instead.”

“Which means Lila was definitely working with Hawkmoth, before the incident,” Ladybug said, thumbing her chin in thought.

“Forgive me for eavesdropping, but did you say former Miraculous wielders?” Max asked.

“Long story, I’ll explain later. For now, we need to get you back to school. Chat, please meet me tonight, I’ll be bringing a few friends with me. And wear a disguise when you transform,” Ladybug said, looping an arm around Max, and spinning her Yo-yo to speed. She flew up into the skyline moments later, with Chat following behind with Kim on his back.

Marinette’s day passed by in a blur. Alya chided her for running off without giving her a text or call, and she looked so hurt that Marinette truly struggled to keep the truth from her friend. Alya’s puppy dog eyes were a truly devastating weapon and it was a good thing Hawkmoth had never chosen to wield them for evil. School ended and Marinette rushed home, sorting out her assignments, homework and projects as best she could until 11pm came and she ‘went to bed’. Minutes later, Ladybug landed on a nearby roof, where Chat was idly tossing his baton from hand to hand, spinning the silver stick several times between each catch.

“Beautiful night to meet a beautiful Lady,” he said with a smile, and she flashed him a weak one in return, pacing over to a riser.

“Sometimes I wish we had an HR department so I could file an informal complaint against you,” she replied, but there was mirth in her tone.

“Oh, my feelings, how you wound them! If you could avoid doing that in future, that’d be greaaat,” Chat replied in a droning tone. “What are these, Princess?”

“Miraculous…es. Miraculi? I’m not sure what the plural is, but they’re the magical items we use to transform. Or as many of them as I could get,” she said, spreading the items out on the riser. “Dog, Mouse, Ox, Pig, Rabbit and Rooster are still within the Miracle Egg, but… I’ve awoken the Tiger and the Goat recently, through… weird dreams. So I think that’s something that comes with being the Guardian, so we will probably get those unlocked as and when they are needed. In the meantime, Pollen is still bound to Chloe, and if we erase her memory, Hawkmoth will know something’s up,” she said. She noticed that the boy seemed to grow… not agitated, not nervous, but something made up of those two emotions, at the mention of Chloe’s name.

“We have the Ladybird and Black Cat Miraculousouses,” Chat added, and Ladybug rolled her eyes.

“We have those, yes. We also have access to the fox and turtle, although I wasn’t able to get the Fox miraculous back yet, as well as the horse, monkey, dragon and, most importantly, the snake. Sass knows more about the inner workings of the Miraculous that even Tikki. Which is why I’ve brought them all here,” she said, taking a step away from the riser. “Tikki, spots off!” she said, as Chat’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Whoa, wait! Oh… well… now I feel a bit silly,” Chat said, looking at the de-transformed girl.

“Why? Don’t tell me you went for the Banana again?” the heroine said from beneath her motorcycle helmet.

“Plagg, claws in,” he said dejectedly, revealing the bright yellow costume he had put on before transforming. Ladybug sighed, giggling to herself before shaking her head.

“Well, this just got about eight times more ridiculous. Tikki, could you please call forth the other Kwami?” she asked. Tikki darted over the Miraculous, spreading pink light across them all. One by one, the Kwami emerged from their housings.

“Oooo, this is new!” Xuppu squeaked with glee as he glanced around. His gaze fell upon Chat Noir, and his jaw dropped. “G-g-giant banana…” he muttered, drooling.

“Foolish monkey. It is clearly a human in some sort of costume,” Longg snapped at the monkey, who slurped away his drool, but couldn’t keep from staring at Chat.

“Whoa… I guess Kwami have the whole gamut of personalities. I knew Tikki was nice and sweet, and Plagg was a fart given sentience, but you my scaly friend are just the perfect match to Kagami,” Chat said. Plagg’s glare spoke volumes.

“I… am going to make every. Single. Inch. Of your sports gear. Smell of the stinkiest, matures cheese I can find. And this is Paris. I can find cheese that’s been maturing its stink for hundreds of years,” the black kwami huffed.

“Might I ask why we have been summoned, Ma- Guardian?” Wayzz asked.

“We’ve called you all out because we need to talk, and without Master Fu… you’re all probably the next best source of information,” Ladybug said, heart twinging at the memory of her lost mentor.

“It’s a Kwami Conference! How positively fabulous!” Kaalki pipped in, dancing about in place with glee.

Hours drifted by as Ladybug and Chat asked as many questions as they could think. Eventually, a plan was formed. They would continue to do with the older heroes what Ladybug had done for Alya. Each would get a redesign and their memories returned, but they would not be allowed to keep their Miraculous. Alya was also going to have to return hers, a fact that almost physically hurt Ladybug to concede to.

“That leaves the final matter. Unfortunately, there isn’t much we can do proactively to find Hawkmoth, and without Barkk, nothing at all,” Sass said, hovering in place in front of Ladybug.

“Her power would be a big help. But you said it was unlikely to be even if she were here right now, why?”

“Barkk is… difficult. She has not had a human companion in over a thousand years, because to be her companion is to be her maid, her servant, her carer, her waiter and anything else she demands, or she refuses to use her power,” Longg said, with a puff of smoke erupting from his nose.

“And it’s not like you can tell your dreams to let you awaken the Dog Miraculous first anyway,” Chat pipped in. Ladybug’s head hung, and she let out a sigh.

“Well, we at least know a little more about the Peacock and the Butterfly now. And you’ve all met Chat now as well. We may need your help going forward, so please, if you have any needs, let us know,” Ladybug said with a smile, before realising how dumb that was considering she was behind a visor.

“You are very kind, Guardian. If we have any needs, I am sure Tikki and the Living Fart can tell you,” Wayzz said, a faint smirk on his face.

“I know where you live,” Plagg hissed at the turtle, glaring across at his Kwami brother.

“Now now! That’s not nice at all. And here I am with a whole wheel of baker’s camembert to give to someone, but I guess I’ll have to let Longg have it instead,” Ladybug said, reaching into her bag to pull out a wheel of something wrapped in a lot of wax paper.

“NO! He’ll burn it! I’ll be good, I promise!” Plagg exclaimed, darting across to Ladybug, who giggled softly. Chat let out a chuckle too, as did Tikki, and soon the whole conference was in hysterics.

“It’s getting… early. We should get going. Thank you all for your help. Chat, I’ll hopefully not see you tomorrow,” Ladybug said, gesturing to Tikki, who waved her arm at the assembled Kwami, who began to be re-absorbed back into their Miraculous. Ladybug gathered the items up into her back, and slung it over her shoulder. “Spots on Tikki!”

“Likewise. I’ve got a busy day, my first free time in what feels like forever and a friend has invited me over for… quiche!” Chat replied, reaching up to the eyebrows of the costume and giving them a wiggle. Ladybug let out a burst of laughter, and then sighed.

“Never change Chat. I mean, change a little, maybe stop trying to get in my pants, but, never stop being you,” she said, before swinging off into the dawn light. Chat let out a sigh, and turned to look at Plagg.

“I would kill for that girl. Claws Out, Plagg!” he said, leaping off the roof moments later.

Marinette awoke with a groan as her phone began buzzing loudly. She lazily rolled over and grabbed the noisy device, hitting the snooze button and curling back up under her covers. A minute later, the phone began to buzz again, and she let out an angrier groan.

“Frrnen fussen mrrnen,” she grumbled, hitting the snooze button again.

“Marinette, it’s Saturday. Wake up!” Tikki pipped up as Marinette shuffled her feet, trying to get comfortable once again.

“Maariiineeeeette! You have a guest!” Tom’s booming voice called up through the house, and the girl grumbled once more, before sitting upright slowly.

“’s Alya?” she mumbled, glancing down at her phone. There was no message on it, so she shrugged, and slipped her feet into her slippers, padding down to the floor and then down through the open trap door into the house proper.

“Good lord Marinette Dupain-Cheng! You look ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!” Chloe’s voice invaded Marinette’s senses, triggering her fight or flight reflexes mid yawn, resulting in a strange, pterodactyl-like screech escaping her throat, which made Chloe’s eyes widen in a mix of fascination and horror.

“C-Chloe!?” Marinette managed.

“Yes? You invited me here for eleven, didn’t you?” Chloe asked, giving Marinette’s tangled mess of hair a glance.

“I… what? Is it that late already?” Marinette squeaked, glancing at the clock.

“No, it’s barely half ten, but I wanted to make sure conditions were right here, and naturally, what you have is severely lacking,” Chloe said, gesturing to the Dupain’s sitting room furniture. “Honestly, it’s almost like… no, I can’t do this, not while your hair looks like that. Come here,” she went on, grabbing at Marinette’s hand and pulling her to a stool. She pulled the hair ties from Marinette’s hair and put her hand to a hair brush, and began to pull it through the knotted mess. The girls sat in silence for a while, as Chloe fought against the knots.

“Um… what do you mean by conditions being right?” Marinette asked with a wince caused by Chloe’s less than gentle pulling.

“If Adrien and I are going to spend time watching our anime together, the conditions must be correct. There must be blankets and pillows enough to make a nest, there must be a lingering popcorn smell, there must be savoury and sweet snacks, and the lightning must be dark,” Chloe said, ministrating a particularly obnoxious twist of hair apart.

“Are you telling me you actually brought your own curtains to my house?” Marinette asked, glancing across at the half dozen bags that Chloe had brought with her. “You really don’t do anything by half measures, do you?”

“I am Chloe fricking Bourgeois. I may be trying to be less of a bitch now, but the world is still MY bitch,” Chloe replied, giving Marinette’s hair a few more brushes, before stepping back. “There, that’s… oh,” Chloe said, eyes slowly widening again.

“W-what? What’s wrong?” Marinette asked.

“N-nothing,” Chloe said, turning away from Marinette, cheeks turning a bright shade of pink.

“Come on, tell me! Is there something bad, have I had hair come out in the night or something?” Marinette grabbed at Chloe and shook her feebly.

“Good lord! Fine! If you absolutely insist on knowing,” Chloe said, pulling her arm away from Marinette’s grip. “I think that… you should… wear your… hair down more often,” she went on, voice getting quieter with every word.

“What was that?” Marinette asked.

“I said you look cute with your hair down!” Chloe snapped, stomping away from Marinette with a growl, throwing the hair brush against the sofa with a huff.

“Aww, you really think I-” she began, when her phone began to go off. “Oop, sorry Chloe, gotta take this,” Marinette said, ducking into another room.

“Hey Alya, ot’s wup, I mean, what’s up?” Marinette asked, answering the video call.

“Hey girl Whoa! W-wow, you um… you have your hair down,” Alya said, surprise evident on her face. Marinette blushed brightly, running a hand through it nervously.

“Y-you like it?” she mumbled.

“Like it? It’s the cutest darn thing I think I’ve ever seen! You were already gorgeous but now I kinda think it’s almost unfair on Chloe! Adrien’s bound to fall for you like that!” Alya exclaimed, grinning widely, which almost masked the flushing of her own cheeks.

“Alya! I already told you, Adrien’s dating Kagami. I’m not going to do anything to put that in jeopardy, for either of them! B-besides, I… I already think I got the reaction I wanted from the… the person I like,” Marinette said, a wry grin spreading across her lips.

“Wait, what? You’re interested in someone else? Is it Nath? Hun, I think he’s gay,” Alya said, and Marinette chuckled softly.

“Considering I caught him cuddled up on Marc’s lap with his hands down the back of his trousers a few days ago, I think you might be onto something there! No, it’s not Nathaniel .”

“Luka, Juleka’s brother? You two were hanging out a lot and he was always going on about ‘finding your song’,” Alya said, putting on a silly accent to mimic Luka.

“Not Luka, not Kim, not Nino,” Marinette said with a roll of her eyes. “L-let’s just say that this… this person has been a big influence on me, and… they’re close to me,” she said. “I, I, I should really go, it’s not nice to keep guests waiting,” she said.

“Alright Marinette. Let me know when you’re done, we can hang out!” Alya said, forcing a smile before cutting off the call. She remained composed for a fraction of a second, before letting out a groan, and flopping back onto her desk.

“Aaargh! Trixx! Why is life so unfair!?” she snapped, as the Kwami flitted around to float in front of their companion’s face.

“What?” they asked curiously.

“Marinette! It’s so fricking obvious! Her new crush!” Alya lamented.

“What’s so obvious?”

“Well! The weirdness before, the going out of her way to be extra nice, it’s so obvious! Marinette has a crush on Chloe!” Alya snapped, pulling a pillow over her face to scream into it.

“I fail to see why this is unfair,” Trixx went on.

“What? How is it not!?”

“Why is her having a crush on Chloe unfair on you? That would mean that either you have a crush on Chloe,” Trixx began.

“If they know what’s good for them, then what the fox says next is nothing,” Alya growled darkly, and Trixx gulped faintly.

“I… I realise that you may not wish to hear this, Miss Alya, but you must consider the possibility that what you feel is…”

“I know!” I know, OK. I’ve known a while I just had a good excuse to ignore it and push her onto a guy!” Alya snapped, hugging the pillow tighter, her eyes tightly shut. “I’ve known since Nino asked me out, I’ve known since the first time she told me she had a crush on Adrien, I’ve known since the first damn time I met her and she offered me her last macron. I’ve known for forever that I have a huge crush on Marinette!” she snapped.

“Alya…”

“And I knew that nothing would happen. Nothing **could** happen! Because she was straight, and in love with Adrien, and that was fine, I could be her friend, I could push her to him and they’d be a couple and that was that. But now she has a crush on a girl, a horrible girl, who will be so bad for her that she might never look at another girl that way again. But I’m her friend, and I have to be supportive again because that’s How Things Are. And that, Trixx, is why life is unfair,” she said, rubbing at her eyes to stop herself from crying.

“Oh little kit, I am so sorry,” Trixx cooed softly, flitting down to nuzzle at Alya’s cheek softly. Alya pressed back, pulling the pillow in tighter with a soft whimper.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Early Merry Christmas! I won't be posting on Wednesday this week so I figured I'd give you an other chapter a little bit early! And what a chapter too, such a fun, angsty ending ;) Thank you to everyone who's read this far, I'm so grateful that you're reading and enjoying my story <3


	17. Nino!

Adrien arrived a little before midday, and Marinette could tell immediately that something was amiss. His greeting, his smile, everything was calculated, a veneer of cheerfulness that covered something deeper. That seemed to fade when he went upstairs and laid eyes on Chloe’s surprisingly well made and structurally sound pillow fort.

“Marinette, I… had no idea you could build like that!” he said with a chuckle.

“Surprise bitch! It was me, Chloe-o!” Chloe exclaimed as she revealed herself from within the confines of the blanket laden nightmare, striking a pose with one arm crossed over her chest and one arm up so that her hand was close to her face.

“Chloe!?” Adrien exclaimed, eyes wide.

“Surprise,” Marinette said softly, with a smile. “Officially, you’re here playing videogames with my dad. Officially, Chloe is here discussing a student project with me for the end of term. Unofficially, you two can hang out here as long as you're able. Our TV’s not quite as big as yours but Chloe brought DVDs that you can watch, and there’s sort of an infinite amount of snacks downstairs,” she said with a chuckle.

“Marinette… I don’t know what to say, thank you so much. I, uh… I know you two haven’t had the best track record, but for the both of you to work together to do this for me, I…” he stammered, lip quivering. Chloe’s eyes widened and she scrambled out of the pillow fort just as Adrien began to sob.

“Adrien!” she squeaked, clamping an arm around him tightly. Before Marinette could react, Chloe had grabbed her, and pulled her in as well, so that both girls were hugging the sobbing boy tightly.

“Thank you. Thank you both so much,” he blubbered, as Marinette’s mouth just opened and closed, noiselessly. The hug lasted a few minutes, until the boy’s sobs stopped, and he pulled back from the hug gently.

“Do you… if you want to talk about it, we’re here for you. I mean…” Marinette began, watching as Adrien rubbed his eyes free of tears.

“I think it’s just been a whole lot of stress lately,” he mumbled weakly.

“Tch! I’ve a strong desire to march straight to your house and give your self-centred bully of a father a piece of my mind!” Chloe growled, before sighing. “Although we all know what good that did us last time…”

“It’d do no good. But thank you for thinking it, Chloe. Really, things like this, getting to hang out with my friends without any other worries, I’d much rather do this than have a big argument with Father,” Adrien said.

“Well then!” Marinette said suddenly, stomping a foot in her eagerness. “I’ll go get some snacks and you two choose what you’re going to watch!”

The hour passed by in a flash, and another half hour beyond that went before Adrien realised the time. He gathered himself up in a panic and dashed downstairs, only to see Mr Lesinge and Tom laughing up a storm together.

“Ah! Adrien! I’m glad you’re here; Guillaume here was talking my ear off! He knows you and I were a dozen sets deep into our last match though, that’s why it took so long,” Tom said, winking at the boy, who turned to look at his bodyguard come chauffeur, who nodded with a meek smile.

“Thank you both, so much! And thank you for today, Marinette, Chloe, it’s… I really needed this,” he said, smiling at the two girls who had come down after him.

“Any time Adrien! You’re always welcome here to play! And Chloe, you and Marinette probably have a lot of work to do on this project, I expect you have to meet up a lot to get it done,” Tom said, giving the girls a wink this time.

The girls bid their goodbyes to Adrien, and went back up to tidy up the living room.

“So, what have you got planned for the rest of the day?” Marinette asked as she folded up a blanket.

“I was… going to visit Lila again,” Chloe said, in a muted tone. She glanced away as Marinette turned to her, letting out a huff of indignation. “Don’t give me that look, Dupain-Cheng! I can do whatsoever I want and I don’t have to justify my actions to you!” she said, crossing her arms in a huff. She glanced back at Marinette, who had the biggest, goofiest grin on her face.

“You’re going to see Lila Again?” she asked, emphasising the last word.

“Y-yes, I am. This will be my forth visit, if you must know, the girl needs someone familiar,” she said, her words losing their harsh edge.

“I’m glad she has that someone in you, Chloe. She’s going to need a friend when she comes back,” Marinette said, sorting the pillows and handing them to Chloe to be packed back into their bags. “I still don’t know if I can do that for her yet, and I know Alya feels super betrayed by her,”

“I don’t know why you still hang around with that loathsome reporter, she’s the one who betrayed you. Siding with Lila with every single lie when even a casual investigation would’ve proved how wrong she was,” Chloe said idly.

“Hey. Alya may have made some bad decisions but she’s still my best friend! I won’t have you talking that way about the girl I l-” Marinette began, before slamming her jaw shut so hard she winced at the pain.

“Girl you what? Ohohohoho! Do I smell a scandalous piece of gossip? Is that why you weren’t your usual gooberous self around Adrien today?” Chloe asked, letting out a practiced Ojou laugh.

“It’s complicated! She’s my best friend, I can’t just… just… BE… the thing that I am. Because I’m not that, and it’s not a thing, so just, just, just drop it!” Marinette stammered, arms flailing in her signature arcs.

“Fine. But denying this won’t make it easier, it’ll make it harder,” Chloe said, stuffing the last of the pillows into her bag, pulling on a chord to compress them down to be easier to carry.

“How do you know that?” Marinette asked with a faint point. Chloe arched an eyebrow at her, hand resting on her cocked hip.

“Really? You’re talking to the literal Queen Bee of denial here. Adrien, my mother, the class, Daddy, Paris as a whole, I was in denial about everything. And it took a beautiful, stunningly gorgeous and dazzlingly magnificent person to make me realise that!”

“I’m flattered Chloe but I really don’t,” Marinette began.

“Not you, you goon! Ladybug! She opened my eyes to all my wrongdoings! So I’m going to prove to her that I can get past it all and become a good person!” Chloe said, a look of determination on her face Marinette hadn’t seen before.

“It’s hardly a genuine improvement if you’re only doing it to date a superhero!” Marinette chided the girl, who looked genuinely hurt by the statement.

“Hmph. Shows what you knows, Marinette Dupain-Cheng! I will have you know I am **not** doing this just to date Ladybug. If she offered I would almost certainly say yes, but I’m not going to get all worked up and I can’t even believe I’m discussing this with you! Who are you to judge my motivation?” she snapped, picking up her bags and heading to the stairs.

“Wait wait wait wait Chloe wait, please, stop, I’m sorry. I’m… you’re right. I shouldn’t have judged you, I was taking my feelings out on you and that was wrong. I’m sorry,” Marinette said.

“I…” Chloe mumbled, veneer breaking for all of a moment. “And so you should be, Marinette! But, I suppose, it took a lot to… begin this whole process we have going on, so… I’m sorry too. For taking that for granted,” she went on. Marinette smiled brightly, and pulled the girl in for a hug. “Uugh, must you? This coat is brand new!” she huffed.

“Ohh, shush, everything you own is always brand new,” Marinette replied, hugging a little tighter before letting her go.

“So, uh… what now?” Chloe asked.

“Now, I’m going over to Alyas to try my absolute best not to be my gooberous self around her,” Marinette said with a sigh.

“Then I guess I’ll go see Lila,” Chloe said, smiling weakly.

“Miss Bourgeois, I’m sorry, but someone else is currently visiting Miss Rossi, I cannot allow you to crowd her like this!” a nurse squeaked as Chloe stormed through the corridors of the hospital. She had seen the limo outside; she knew exactly who was speaking with Lila at that moment.

“If you have a problem with it, take it up with my father!” she snapped, grabbing the handle of the door and pulling it open. Inside the room stood Gabriel Agreste, remaining stoic at the far end of the bed. Next to Lila, practically looming over her, was Nathalie, digital contract in hand.

“Just what is the meaning of this?” Gabriel snapped, face souring even more after he realised just who had interrupted.

“I should be the one asking that! What are you doing here?” Chloe snapped.

“T-They want me to sign something!” Lila squeaked.

“I don’t have to answer to you. This is a private meeting, get out!” Gabriel replied with a growl.

“This is a hospital room! Lila is supposed to be recovering, not signing contracts!” Chloe bit back at the man, who took a few steps towards her, using his full height to impose over the blonde.

“I do not have time to argue back and forth with some petulant child. Nathalie, get the contract signed and meet me in the car. I do not wish to stay in this… establishment… any longer than necessary,” he snapped, sidestepping Chloe who kept her eyes locked on his as he moved.

“Miss Bourgeois… Never mind, I can wait,” Nathalie said, flinching back at Chloe’s sudden glare. She tapped a few buttons on the tablet, and stood, smartening her skirt before pacing to the door, closing it behind her. Chloe counted to five in her head, before collapsing to her knees with a groan.

“Chloe?” Lila mumbled, as the girl struggled back to her feet.

“Pheew, that was scary. I’d forgotten just how terrifying he can be when he’s up close,” Chloe said, heart pounding against her chest. She sat in the chair next to Lila’s pillows, and the brunette leaned over to hug Chloe tightly.

“Thank you for saving me again. They were talking about contracts, and fines, and it was all super overwhelming…” Lila said, as Chloe patted her hair gently.

“Shouldn’t they be talking to your parents?” Chloe asked.

“Still no word from either...” Lila mumbled, looking down at her hands. Chloe took a breath, and reached for them, cupping them in her own.

“I’m sorry. Parents suck. I’m guessing you don’t know when they’re going to release you?” she asked.

“I’m free to go as long as I’m going with a legal guardian…” Lila said with a sigh. “Which, considering neither of my legal guardians seem to care that I’m even here, that could be a while. But on the plus side, I become my own legal guardian when I become eighteen…” she added with a sob of a laugh.

“No. No, I will not stand for that!” Chloe snapped, pushing herself back to her feet.

“Chloe?” Lila asked.

“My father is the Mayor! If he can’t get you out of here now, then what good even is the title?” she barked, pulling out her phone and hitting the top speed dial. “Daddy? I need your help. No, I’m not in trouble. Yes, really. I promise, I’m not in… **yes this is the real Chloe!** Rude! I need a lawyer, or a… custodial expert? To come and help my friend. Daddy, stop crying, it’s not that big a deal. Fine. Yes. I love you too. Daddy. Daddy, stop… you don’t need to cry every time I tell you that! Of course it’s true, you’re my dad, of course I love you. Yes. Thank you,” she said, through brief pauses as the man on the other side of the phone.

“Um?” Lila asked.

“He’s sending someone. I am getting you out of here!” Chloe said, with a determined expression. “And I’m not going to let Nathalie sign your life away,” she added, her voice a little louder. Outside the door, Nathalie pulled out her phone.

“Sir… we may have a problem,” she said, with a sigh.

Alya took a deep breath, and opened the door, the bell’s shrill ring lingering in her ears. She forced a smile, but quickly regretted it, seeing the sour expression on the face beyond the threshold.

“Is this gunna be long?” Nino asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I… no, it won’t take long. I’ve already got your stuff gathered,” she said, nodding over to the box filled with miscellaneous items that belonged to the boy.

“Y’know, I wasn’t expecting this…” Nino said, stepping into the apartment and wiping his feet. “I thought we had an agreement. Didn’t think you’d fly off the handle like that.”

“I know… Look, can we talk for a bit? Like, properly talk?” she asked, fiddling with a strand of hair nervously.

“Depends, are you gunna shout at me again?” Nino replied, a hint of sarcasm in his words. He paced over to one of the chairs in the dining area and sat down.

“I… hopefully not,” Alya replied, a weak smile curling one side of her mouth. Nino rolled his eyes with a cough of laughter.

“Aight, I guess we owe each other that. What happened bro?” Nino asked with a nod of his head.

“Lila. And… I don’t know, I just… believed her. I believed every damn word she said, so much so that it just… made me dumber? I can’t think of any other explanation,” she said, before letting out a sigh. “No, that’s not true, I kinda… I wanted it to be true, I guess. I wanted the big dumb het couple fight and make up but… then she started saying stuff about me and Mari and…”

“And that’s your biggest weak spot, I know,” Nino said, and Alya nodded her head weakly. She let out a little whimper, resting on the back of the sofa as she ran her hands through her hair.

“And you know what the worst thing is?” she said.

“Worse than yelling for everyone to see and coming across as kinda crazy?” he remarked with a smirk.

“Way worse. She’s over her crush on Adrien,” she replied, rolling her eyes at him.

“Lucky her. Wish I could be,” Nino replied with a huff.

“Yeah, but she definitely has a type. Thin, blonde, blue eyes, rich. She’s got a crush on Chloe!”

“Whoa, harsh. Are you sure? Or are you doing an Alya and blowing things way outa proportion? Like, has she said the words ‘I have a crush on Chloe’ to you?” he asked.

“Um… w-well, it’s… not like she’s been explicit about it, but…” Alya said, glancing away from the DJ, who chuckled again.

“Then it ain’t proven yet. Don’t give up, you funky little lesbian,” Nino said, giving her a thumbs up.

“Right back at ya, you flaming great homo,” she replied with a light chuckle. “How **are** things on the crush front? Adrien, obviously, but who else now?” she asked.

“Y’know Juleka’s brother? Him. Also, Aurore said she was gunna see if her cousin Wayhem was available. We’re actually going on a date tomorrow, super stoked for that!” he said, eyes half closing as he thought about the boys. “Also my ongoing crush on Sparrow is still a thing, but I’m guessing you’re still gaga over Ladybug so you get me. How many fics is it you’ve written now?”

“Seventeen and you **know** that talking about those is off limits,” she replied with a pout. “Nino… I’m sorry,” she added, hanging her head. “I know I messed up, like, everything.”

“Yeah, you kinda did. But it’s not a total bust. You and Mari are closer because of it, right?” he said with a smile.

“Yeah, we kinda are. Damn. What did I ever do to deserve a friend as good as you?” Alya said with a chuckle.

“I dunno bro, but remember that. I’m a treasure,” he said with a wink. The doorbell rang suddenly, causing both to flinch in surprise.

“Alyaaa!” Marinette’s voice called from outside.

“Oh frick!” Alya squeaked.

“Don’t freak. I’ll go. We ‘worked things out amicably’ remember,” he said with a wink, grabbing the box of things. “And one last thing. Stay out of your own head a bit more. Don’t dwell,” he said with a smile. “Now watch her absolutely freak out. Ten euro says she falls over!” he said, smirking as he swung the door open.

Marinette didn’t fall over, but she did almost have a heart attack. After explanations and Nino heading off, the girls spent the afternoon finishing the measurements for Alya’s dress, and sorting through colour swatches. Alya asked Marinette if she wanted to stay and watch the new Majestia movie with her, but she declined. The twin dragons of Homework and Fatigue were looming over her, heads rearing. She went home just as the sun was setting, and was asleep barely an hour later. Her Sunday passed in a blur of work, baking and writing, measuring and sewing, cutting and scheming with Tikki. She went to sleep after a productive day, but woke up with a start to a dark room, save for a glow in the distance.

“Mnnh, Tikki are you browsing cat videos again?” she mumbled, rubbing her eyes as she slid from her bed. She padded down her ladder, and turned to the glow, only to discover that it was at the far end of a long corridor. She turned back to the ladder, which had vanished.

“This was inevitable…” she muttered, taking a step forward. The corridor surged, and in an instant, she was on the cusp of where the light was coming from.

“Hello? Representation of the new Kwami who’s going to be re-awoken, are you out there?” she called out, rolling her eyes a little. She leaned towards the light, ears picking up the sounds of animated conversation, and she let out a gentle sigh before walking into the light. The room that she entered had a long table, with multiple chairs on one side and a single chair on the other. Each of the four chairs on one side were occupied by dark shapes, and two more shapes stood behind them.

“You took your time,” the largest of the shapes, which had horns, said. Marinette nodded her head, and sat in the seat opposite them.

“I had to, otherwise, everything would have been over too quickly,” she replied, glancing over to one of the standing figures, who had tall ears protruding from their head.

“Ohoho! I knew I liked this one the most! She’s playing along perfectly!” it said with a giggle. Marinette smiled, and leaned forward with her elbows on the table.

“I think I know what’s going on, but I’ll let you continue,” she said, glancing across at the figures. The other standing one waved at her, and she waved back.

“Well, if you’re going to take all the fun out of it, I’m leaving!” one of the figures, with floppy ears, huffed, pushing up and away from the table. Marinette moved to stop them, only to find herself stumbling forwards in the corridor outside the room. Her brow furrowed, and she stepped forward again, walking into the room.

“You took your time,” the largest of the shapes said. Marinette glanced up at the long eared shape, who nodded their head slowly.

“I did. I’m sorry about that,” she said, sitting in the free chair.

“Do you know why you are here?” floppy ears asked.

“I… have an idea, but please, tell me,” she replied.

“You are to choose. The future is not set in stone,” the winged shape spoke.

“But neither is the past,” the tall eared one said with a giggle, one mirrored by Marinette.

“Choosing between things I cannot possibly understand. It’d be naïve of me to attempt it without any information at all,” Marinette replied, gaze sweeping across all six figures.

“You may ask one question,” the floppy eared one said. Marinette thought long and hard, glancing to each figure in turn, wracking her brain for a suitable question. Eventually, she closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. A throbbing, ringing noise began to sound, and she gasped.

“Will I ever know the right choice to make?” she asked, hands bunching into fists.

“No. But you have the knowledge and the intelligence to turn the choice you make into the right one,” the last seated figure answered, the noise around them growing louder, more oppressive with every passing moment.

“Then I know who I must choose. My answer is…” she said, but her answer was drowned out by the noise. Marinette sat up, glaring across at her phone as its alarm sounded shrilly. She sighed, and swiped it off, cupping Tikki into her palm as the creature stirred.

“Morning,” she cooed softly, giving her companion a gentle kiss which invoked a series of giggles in the tiny God.

“Hello Marinette! Did you sleep well?”

“Not really, but I’m at least starting to get the hang of these dreams,” she said, padding over to the wardrobe she kept the Miracle Egg in. To Tikki’s surprise, it began to glow as Marinette opened the doors.

“Wow! You’re really taking to this Guardian thing Marinette!” she said, flitting up and over to the egg.

“Thank you! It’s still a bit of a mystery, but it’s getting easier. And this one should be the thumb ri- Anklet? What? That’s not what I picked!” Marinette said with wide eyes, as the pig Miraculous formed in the air before dropping into her palm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Due to personal circumstances I'm going to have to delay the next chapter until next Sunday. Very sorry about that.


End file.
